Groundbreaking British Invention

Groundbreaking British invention could help industry slash bills by 45 percent and radically cut CO2

  • New type of heat battery allows users to swap expensive gas and electricity for cheap on-site solar instead.
  • Bills cut by over 45% with an annual saving of £915,000.
  • Payback in as little as 6 years.
  • 1,000 tonnes of CO2 avoided per year.
  • Inventors Caldera already have £4.3 million backing from UK Government.
  • Potential ‘major positive impact’ on UK net zero ambitions.

 

A groundbreaking British invention could help industry slash energy bills by 45 percent and radically reduce CO2.

Hampshire startup Caldera has developed a unique type of heat storage system, which takes cheap on-site solar power and stores it as heat in specially designed cells made of scrap aluminium and volcanic rock.

These cells then deliver heat when required as hot water or steam, the main energy source for many processes in pharmaceuticals, food manufacturing and brewing.

This allows businesses to switch off high-cost gas and electricity and use cheap on-site solar instead.

Now independent analysis by energy consultants Gemserv shows this system could slash fuel bills by 45 percent, saving a typical business hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

The calculations are based on a real-life British food factory using its own on-site solar array, where Gemserv predicted an annual energy saving of £915,000 and a reduction of more than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted per year.  Installation of the system could pay for itself in less than six years, the analysis states.

In June, Caldera was awarded £4.3 million from the UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero to build a full-scale demonstrator at their Southampton site, where they will showcase the technology.

They are currently crowd raising on Crowdcube and have already surpassed 150 percent of their target raise.

“Energy bills are a major headache for industry, and in particular the high and volatile price of gas,” explains company co-founder and CEO James Macnaghten.

“In contrast, solar power is getting cheaper by the month. Our technology allows factory owners to use low-cost solar electricity which can be stored in super-insulated cells to be used when required,” James says.

 

 

Caldera has targeted their technology at factories which use industrial steam – which accounts for 31 percent of all UK industrial energy use.

“Many businesses have not yet realised the huge potential for installing a dedicated solar farm – even where little roof space is available,” James continues.

“It’s often possible to lease land for a solar farm in the vicinity and run a dedicated cable – known as a ‘private wire’ – for a kilometre or more to the industrial site. In our case study, the food factory plans a 7MW solar array on land nearby.

“Our system completely bypasses the need to connect to the grid, which can take years, and means the factory owner can generate and use all of their solar energy at cost.

“This transforms the economics of solar power and gives the site owner price certainty over decades, allowing manufacturers to focus on their core business, and not on the price of gas.

“This Gemserv report backs up our own internal findings.  We believe the widespread adoption of Caldera’s industrial heat storage system would bring significant benefits to many British manufacturers and could have a major positive impact our net zero ambitions,” James concludes.

Inside a heat cell

Each heat cell houses a solid core of aluminium-rock composite encased in vacuum insulation which can store heat at temperatures from 200 to 500C.

These modular cells can store this with very high efficiency for hours, ready to deliver heat on demand at temperatures between 80 to 200 C – the sweet spot for many industrial processes.

This allows industrial users to capitalise on super-cheap solar energy, which can be generated on-site (or on land nearby) and stored ready for use when required.

 

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Consumer-owned Wind Farm Operational Early 2024

Construction of the UK’s largest consumer-owned wind farm has begun in Kirkoswald, Ayrshire, as blades begin to be lifted onto the eight turbines at the Kirk Hill Wind Farm.

More than 5,600 members from households and businesses across Scotland, England and Wales part own the site. Members of the co-operative should benefit from the low cost, renewable energy it generates once operational in early 2024. The average predicted first year bill saving for its 5,600 members is £269.

Managed and run by Ripple Energy, the wind farm will have a total capacity of 18.8MW, with the potential to power around 20,000 households and businesses.

Sarah Merrick, founder and chief executive of Ripple Energy, said:

“From the moment the turbines left the factories and made their journey across the Mediterranean and into the Port of Ayr, our members have been avidly following their journey.

“Those who want a zero-carbon future can now part-own renewable energy projects, and directly benefit from lower and more stable electricity bills over the long-term.”

Ripple Energy started the UK’s first consumer owned wind farm with a single turbine at Graig Fatha Wind Farm in south Wales, which has been supplying its owners with low-cost electricity since March 2022.

Kirk Hill Wind Farm came next, representing the second largest amount of equity raised by a UK co-operative society for a green energy project (£13.2m) – and is set to be energised early 2024.

Derill Water Solar Park in Devon is the first shared solar park in the UK and the brand’s biggest project to date, ahcieving the highest ever single raise in the history of a UK co-operative (more than £20m) – and is set to be energised late summer 2024.

 

Source: Insider UK

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The Hidden Power, Geothermal Energy

  

For Graham Grant, CEO of Bentley-owned software company Seequent, geothermal energy, beyond its application for heating, provides the perfect setting upon which industry, from vegetable farming to steel making, can thrive.

Grant, a presenter and panellist at the Bentley Year in Infrastructure and Going Digital Awards hosted in Singapore, spoke both on the critical minerals crisis, as well as the massive untapped role geothermal energy can play in industry, likening the Earth and its heat to “the world’s largest power station.”

Directing audience members to look down at their shoes, Grant illustrated how what was actually being looked at was this theoretical and literal power station: “The centre of the Earth is the same heat as the sun. It’s 6,500km (down), which means that the Earth is a huge, big battery. It’s a massive power station to be exploited.”

This innate heat, energy generated from underground, is geothermal energy, which Grant explained is “interesting in that it’s a base load source of power and any reliable grid in the world needs baseload power.

“Not only is it baseload, it’s also surge power – you can take a geothermal power station, turn it up, turn it down and use it to baseload capacity manage a power network.”

Low heat exhaust pipes

Geothermal energy is high temperature and generates electricity, but Grant added that another facet of geothermal comes from the potential of resulting low temperature heat from geothermal power plants.

Likening it to the example of a car’s exhaust pipe, Grant said: “If you think about the exhaust pipe on your car what comes out the back of the plant is low temperature heat  which can be used for heating, as opposed to electricity production.”

To demonstrate, he cited the use case of Paris, France, which has seen approximately 2 million people heat their households from water sourced from below the ground.

“For the last 30 years, they’ve been tapping aquifers 2,000 meters down and pulling 60°C water to the surface and heating the city.

“Just on the other side of Singapore Island, at Sembawang, they’ve been drilling 1,000 meters down and NTU (Nanyang Technological University) has been running a research project to pull hot water from underneath Singapore and use it for cooling.”

However, added grant, the value case for geothermal goes beyond the surface value of household heating – it provides the foundation upon which industry can built.

“Geothermal is more than electricity and it’s more than heat, because around that heat you can build an industrial ecosystem.

“If we take New Zealand as an example – where the base load power is used for Microsoft’s new data centre, which is 100% renewable energy, it’s used for steel-making – that exhaust heat is used for a whole bunch of things.

“It’s used for milk drying, which is New Zealand’s largest export industry. It’s used for vegetable production, for heating hot houses. We’re a pretty cold country in the Winter, but we can produce these amazing, high-quality vegetables all year round.

“In fact, Contact Energy, who is a Founders Award winner this year at the Bentley Going Digital show, supports timber drying, the development of biofuels, but they are also developing the first industrial park that’s been commissioned by First Nations people in New Zealand to encourage the development of businesses that will use low-cost secondary heat that comes off the back of the geothermal power plant.

“So that creates a whole industrial and community ecosystem around that heat.”

Understanding the underground

According to Grant, to best optimise the use of geothermal energy for industry, understanding its nature will be of key importance.

“To do all of this, you need extremely powerful technology to understand the underground and you need to unlock this concept of digital insight that helps drive this level of sophistication.”

Grant related this to the work of Seequent, which creates and integrates earth modelling and geo-data management software.

“Understanding the underground was a concept related not only to geothermal but across energy sources.”

Supply side interlock

Specifically, Grant referenced the idea of a “supply and demand” interlock that both industry and politics have been battling.

“New forms of energy are heavily metal-consumptive and our challenge is where we are going to find the resources we need for the energy transition.”

Citing the mineral consumption by clean tech such as lithium-ion batteries, which are forecast to increase five times over in the next nine years, and offshore wind turbines, Grant stated that, as we continue to use this tech, demand for its metal has been continuing to exponentially increase.

Citing data from the International Energy Agency, he compared the mineral demand stemming from offshore renewable energy and gas-fired power generation.

Although renewables are clearly the way to go, he states, when generating the same amount of power, the latter uses nearly 13 times less the amount of minerals.

“We’re generating this supply and demand interlock and a timing problem where, for example, the factory that makes those batteries can now be constructed in under a year but the mine to supply them will now take between 15 and 20 years to build.

“Governments are waking up to supply side problem, to the demand side shift that we’re creating, and now the issue of critical minerals supply is on the national agenda of almost every government in the world.”

Source: Power Engineering International

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PHANTOM POWER PROJECTS BLOCKING THE WAY TO GREEN ENERGY

The UK’s shift to net zero is obstructed by a long queue of renewable energy projects that have to wait years to connect to the grid, an energy firm has said.

A report from Centrica found that the UK’s existing queue for Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) – the queue for connecting new projects to the grid – is massively oversubscribed, and the problem has become more severe in the last few years.

Some of the new energy projects are being blocked on the grounds that the developers do not even have land rights yet and haven’t applied for planning consents. The estimated size of these projects is around 62GW, or roughly one-fifth of all power generation in the queue.

Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea argues that these ‘phantom’ projects should have their construction agreements terminated if developers miss key milestones.

“In recent years, energy security has rightly moved up the agenda as countries look to secure supplies and drive the transition to net zero,” O’Shea said.

“That’s why it defies belief that the queue for new, green energy connections is blocked by phantom power projects. Not only do these ‘developers’ not have the money to develop, but many also don’t even have planning permission or land rights – they’re gambling that holding a space in the queue will make them rich.”

The report found that there are currently 371GW of projects in the queue, enough to significantly improve the UK’s energy security. But only around 114GW worth of projects have listed their connection date as before 2029 despite the plan to decarbonise the entire grid by 2035.

Around 62GW of the projects planned are only in the scoping phase, and developers may not even have secured land rights or applied for planning consent, the report said.

The queue was found to be so oversubscribed that it is having a damaging effect on outside investments that could drive the UK’s energy transition.

Ofgem is currently exploring rule changes to address queue issues that would allow the National Grid Electricity System Operator to remove projects from the queue if they miss key milestones. But it is yet to decide whether the rule change should be applied retroactively or just to new projects that are entering the queue.

The report estimates that applying the rule change to projects already in the queue could add an additional 12GW of green power to the system in the short-term, as space is created for those projects that are ready to progress.

This would be particularly beneficial while oil prices are high and energy supplies remain strained.

“The system was created for a different time, when a small number of large projects were connected each year. Our current approach is not fit for purpose and needs urgent reform,” O’Shea added.

“Thankfully Ofgem has now recognised the need for action, but every day we wait for action is costing consumers money. Urgently introducing an industry rule change and applying it to the current queue, so that existing phantom projects lose their place when they miss milestones, would show that Ofgem were helping to reduce costs for consumers, to drive the energy transition and to improve the UK’s energy security.”

Source: E&T

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Renewable Energy Installations, 62% up

More households are installing heat pumps and solar panels in the UK than ever before, with a 62% jump compared to last year, new data from the official standards body for renewable technologies shows.

MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme, industry standards) data shows that in the first six months of 2023, more than 120,000 certified solar panels, heat pumps and other renewable technologies were installed in UK homes, the highest number ever by this point in the year.

The previous record for renewable installations was more than a decade ago in 2012, when households raced to get solar panels before cuts to the Feed-In Tariff incentive scheme kicked in.

June saw 27,791 certified installations recorded on homes and businesses across the UK, bringing the total for the first half of the year to 122,155. 2023 saw more installations in the month of June and in the first half of the year than any previous year.

2023 is the first year to average more than 20,000 solar panel installations per month, and the first to see more than 3,000 heat pumps installed per month. Analysts say that with this sustained growth, nearly a quarter of a million households could install renewable energy by the end of this year.

Over 80% of the installations so far in 2023 have been electricity-generating technologies, driven mainly by the continued growth in solar PV installations. By the end of June, there were 102,797 certified installations of solar PV alone as more households turn to home-grown energy during the cost-of-living crisis. The first half of 2023 saw 82% more installations than the first half of 2022.

Small-scale renewable energy installations on homes and businesses across the UK now have a total installed capacity of 4GW. The energy demand for the entire country averaged 29.4GW a day in the last year, meaning that the solar panels and wind turbines on peoples’ homes, at peak conditions, could power over 13% of the UK at current.

The growth in solar has been mirrored by battery storage installation growth since MCS introduced the battery storage installation standard at the end of 2021. Each month of 2023 has been a record month for battery technologies, with installation figures surpassing the month before, totalling over 1,000 batteries going into homes and businesses across the UK in 2023 so far.

There has been similar success in the growth of low-carbon heating, with average heat pump installations being over 3,000 per month for the first time in 2023. There were 17,920 heat pump installations in the first six months of 2023, a figure only rivalled by a rush to install heat pumps before the end of the Renewable Heat Incentive subsidy scheme in March 2022.

Heat pump installations in England and Wales have been eligible for £5,000 – £6,000 Government grants since May last year under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. These grants are starting to take effect as heat pump sales are steadily growing. In Scotland, consumers can claim a grant of £7,500-£9,000 towards a heat pump installation plus an additional optional loan of £7,500.

The UK Government has set clear targets to reach 70GW of solar capacity by 2035 and to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. The growth in renewable technology across the UK in the last few years is promising, but there is still much further to go.

One of the biggest barriers to overcome will be recruiting enough qualified, skilled installers to meet demand. There are now 1,500 certified heat pump installation companies in the UK, estimates are that 50,000 workers will be needed to meet Government targets of installing 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028. So far in 2023, over 850 new contractors have become MCS certified. That’s more contractors than joined the scheme during the whole of 2022, showing the UK is picking up pace in recruiting installers.

MCS is calling for the Government to expand the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and offer higher grant values and more vouchers per year. Further investment in skills and training is also needed to build up a workforce able to respond to the demand for heat pumps.

MCS is also calling on the Government to mandate solar panels, heat pumps, and battery storage in all new homes from 2025 under the new Future Homes Standard.

MCS CEO Ian Rippin said:

“We are pleased to report that the UK is on track for its strongest year ever for certified small-scale renewable technology installations. The home-grown energy you invest in for your home, or your business plays an ever more crucial role in the decarbonisation of UK buildings.

“As the cost of energy continues to grow, we are seeing more people turn to renewable technology to generate their own energy and heat at home. We need to continue to push this expansion to meet our shared national ambitions to reach net zero by 2050. More consumers have the confidence to invest in small-scale renewables now than ever, but we have to make that transition even easier.

“That is why MCS is currently considering feedback from contractors, consumers, and industry experts on proposals to redevelop and scheme and remove some of the complexity in the sector. We continue to grow year-on-year and it is important that we keep our eye on the future and take time to reassess how we support the industry as that progress continues.”

Speaking on the sustained growth of rooftop solar on UK homes and businesses, Gareth Simkins, Senior Communications Adviser at Solar Energy UK said:

“In the spring, it was looking like we would have something like 215,000 MCS certified solar installations this year. But that was clearly an underestimate – I would bet on around 250,000 now. Installing solar on your roof is one of the best home improvements you can make, and more and more people realise the financial and environmental benefits.”

Discussing the continued success of heat pump deployment across the UK, Bean Beanland, Director of External Affairs at the Heat Pump Federation, said

“Whilst there is much to celebrate, there is a tremendous job of work to do to ensure that heat pump technology becomes mainstream over the remainder of this decade. Enhancing the collaboration with existing and future installers is critical, both to industry success and to the continued development of policy supportive of the electrification of heat and the complete cessation of combustion in due course.

“It is essential that the lowest carbon heat becomes the lowest cost heat so that homeowners and landlords can justify the transition away from polluting fossil fuels. This transition will accelerate as consumers appreciate the advances in protection that the revisions to the MCS scheme are designed to deliver. If this is coupled to a genuine affordability and future funding package, then households will be able to contribute to climate change mitigation with confidence and at a cost that is fair to all.”

Data above shows Scheme performance from January to June 2023. View the near-real-time data on the MCS Data Dashboard

 

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GOVERNMENT MUST FOCUS ON RENEWABLES

In statistics released by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) renewables generated a record annual amount of electricity in 2022.

Production from renewable technologies beat the previous record high of 2020 and renewables share of electricity generation increased to 41.5% from 39.6% last year, largely due to wind and solar generation reaching new record highs.

Wind generation hit a record high share of 24.7% of generation.

Generation from fossil fuels fell slightly (down to a share of 40.8%) but generation from gas remained the principal form of UK generation at 38.4%.

The Digest of UK Energy Statistics states that the increase is due to high output from wind and solar generators, substantial increases in wind generation capacity and more favourable weather conditions than 2021.

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Dan McGrail said:

“It’s great to see renewables setting new records across the board, generating record amounts of clean power last year, making us less dependant on expensive gas imports at the very time when fossil fuel costs rocketed up, causing an energy crisis which we’re still grappling with.

“Government and industry must pull out all the stops to increase our energy security by ensuring that vital new clean energy projects can be built faster, onshore and offshore.

“This is not the time to waver or row back on policies which accelerate the energy transition.

“On the contrary, we need more of a focus from Government on ensuring we continue to unlock investment in renewables, and that the UK’s secures the maximum amount of new jobs and manufacturing investment which could flow from the billions of pounds of private investment which our sector brings.”

Source: ReNews

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‘SWEET CONCRETE’

The University of East London (UEL), in creative partnership with Grimshaw Architects, has developed a prototype floor slab made from sugarcane, as part of a groundbreaking project to find a new low cost, low carbon construction material.

The UEL’s Master of Architecture and Sustainability Research Institute, supported by Tate & Lyle sugars, has developed the innovative construction material with the trademark ‘Sugarcrete’.

The product, which has been developed over two years, uses sugarcane fibres which are left over after sugar sap extraction, which are known as bagasse, mixed with bespoke sand-mineral binders.

The result is a material which has the potential to be used and re-used in new or existing buildings, replacing both brick and concrete – and it is particularly effective for building in countries at risk of earthquakes.

Armor Gutierrez Rivas, Senior Lecturer in Architecture at UEL, explained sugarcane is the world’s largest crop by production volume, with almost two billion tonnes produced worldwide yearly.

This results in six hundred million tonnes of fibre bagasse as an arable by-product – waste which could be put to good use in the construction industry.

“Using a bio-waste-based product like SugarcreteTM, we could replace the traditional brick industry, offering potential saving of 1,08 billion tonnes of CO2, 3 per cent of the global CO2 production,” says Rivas.

“The built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions.

“Despite the global aim to hold global warning to 1.5 degrees Celsius, it is estimated that our global built floor areas will double by 2060.

“Therefore, we must develop alternatives to current construction methods.”

Testing of Sugarcrete by the UEL’s Sustanability Research institute has shown that compared to concrete production, Sugarcrete is cured within one week, while the process takes up to 28 days for concrete.

The product is also four to five times lighter than concrete and only uses 15% to 20% of its carbon footprint at substantially reduced costs.

As part of the research programme, UEL developed a prototype floor-slab made from sugarcane derived from SugarcreteTM and used advanced digital modelling and robotic fabrication to test the viability of the ultra-low carbon materials in construction.

Arcitectural firm Grimshaw’s previous research into interlocking geometries – using the form of the building components to create self-supporting assemblies – allowed SugarcreteTM to be deployed as a demountable, reusable, fire resistant composite floor slab, which can be applied, disassembled, or extended in new or existing structures.

“Sugarcrete when integrated as a floor slab adapts Abeille’s 1699 design for dry assembly flat vaults,” said Elena Shilova, architect at Grimshaw.

“The system is made of interlocking components which transfer loads across the slab between blocks, restrained using post-tensioned perimeter ties, reducing the steel content of the slab up to 90 per cent.

“Reducing steel, combined with the use of sugar cane fibres of different densities in a modular system, allows the slab assembly to avoid the potential risks of cracking which occur with traditional concrete in extreme situations, absorbing the effects of seismic shock – a characteristic vital in earthquake prone regions where sugar cane is cultivated.”

As part of the project, and working with Tate & Lyle Sugars, the team has started to identify sites in the sugar producing Global South, which have the opportunity to adopt Sugarcrete.

As well as providing an alternative, sustainable construction material globally, production of the material could provide particular advantages for sugar-producing communities, many of whom have to import materials that are poor performing for their environment, at high cost.

The intention is to work with local NGO’s to test a prototype.

Alan Chandler, Co-Director of UEL’s Sustainability Research Institute, said:

“By partnering locally, the production potential in each situation is evaluated, defining whether cement-use reduction can be made using locally created SugarcreteTM, or whether there is capacity to grow export markets for raw material or finished products to benefit GDP.

“This is particularly relevant for sugar producing communities where construction materials are frequently imported, environmentally poor performing, high cost and high carbon – for example a concrete block in Cuba, a major sugar producing country costs $3 – an average monthly salary is $148.”

Sugarcrete has been nominated for this year’s Earthshot Prize by former winners, Notpla, in the Build a Waste-Free World category.

In addition, researchers from UEL will publish their first set of SugarcreteTM  journal papers with its partners over the coming year, alongside carrying out further research on structural, durability and acoustic properties of the constituent materials.

Source: Infrastructure Intelligence

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FIT AND FORGET: A guaranteed method reducing energy bills

Water conservation is the key to reducing energy bills.  Heating water accounts for nearly 1/5th of energy use in UK homes.

Reducing hot water demand is an effective way to help occupants conserve energy and reduce bills.  Some uses are fixed, e.g. the washing machine or dishwasher, here education about full loads and eco settings can have an impact.  However, many are not.   Showers account for a quarter of UK domestic water usage.  To reduce this hot water usage there are three options:

Cold showers, not ideal on a cold winter morning
Shorter showers, using egg timers or a ‘favourite song’ to cut shower time

Flow reduction, less water is used while the shower is running.
The first two options require active engagement by all members of the household.  The last is a fit and forget method of permanently reducing water use.

‘Eco’ or water saving shower heads are designed to restrict the water flow to a single outlet.  They are highly effective but retrofits like these come at a price, especially larger properties with multiple bathrooms.  They also do nothing for running taps, whether they’re in the bathroom or kitchen.

A second 1/5th of water usage is the taps in the house, e.g. rinsing the coffee cup, or washing hands.  Again, flow restrictors can be fitted to each of these outlets.   For households on an increasingly tight budget, or developers trying to minimise costs, multiple fittings for each tap or shower might not be an investment they are able to make.

Household flow restriction for just £20 per property

The alternative is whole site flow reduction.  Fitting a device such as Groundbreaker’s NRv2 LoFlo, at the meter regulates the level of flow entering customer premises – regardless of network pressure.  As the flow of water into the premises is limited, then the amount used in ‘time controlled’ activities is also limited – but without providing a degradation of service.  More importantly not requiring any intervention or behavioural change on the part of the customer, so leading to ‘natural’ reduction in consumption.   Our water companies are regulated to provide a minimum level of water supply, but in many areas, due to network structure and gravity fed systems, supply is much greater. Households in high pressure areas could be receiving up to three times the required minimum levels.  So, run a hose for five minutes at the bottom of the hill, and your lawn will be greener that the gardener that does the same at the top.  ‘Time controlled’ uses could be reduced if all households received the same acceptable, ‘standardised’ supply.   Independent research carried out by WRc, showed a theoretical reduction of 2-4% of typical water usage when devices such as LoFlo are installed. However, recent field trials by a major UK water company have showing savings of 5%.   As part of UK Net Zero Carbon targets water companies have been targeted to reduce the water householders are using, Per Capita Consumption (PCC).  PCC reduction targets average just under 6% in the UK, so utilising property flow restriction could achieve just 1% off the average PPC reduction targets!  However, water companies are also tied to customer performance commitment levels (C-Mex), and some seem to be concerned that a reduction in the supply levels to properties will prompt customer complaints, offsetting the financial rewards of achieving PCC targets.  Field trials of devices such as LoFlo, have shown that most customers are not aware of supply levels in their property, within certain limits. Especially when moving into a new property, customers accept the levels as ‘being what it is’ and fears of an increase in customer complaints impacting C-Mex values are overrated.  In recent trials in England, where occupants did notice the change in supply, it was the positive impact of reduced flow that was cited, e.g. reduced splashing at the kitchen sink.  Not a single occupant wanted the LoFLo to be removed after the trial period

The NRv2 LoFlo can be easily and simply retrofitted to any meter installation, or meter exchange when upgrading or remediating underground meter chambers.  Thus, allowing water demand  management, with little or no impact on consumers, at the minimal cost of approximately £20 per household.  As the LoFlo is fitted at the water meter, it is the water companies fitting.  Therefore, developers must be proactive in challenging water companies to provide a standardised supply to help UK housing stock to achieve water consumption targets.

www.groundbreaker.co.uk

 

 

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Solar technology is a game-changer

World-first solar technology is a game-changer in providing affordable clean energy to flats

  • SolShare is the world’s only technology for connecting multiple residential units within a single building to a single rooftop solar PV system
  • Wales is the first nation to implement new solar technology for housing blocks in Europe
  • Each household could benefit from savings of around 50% off their electricity bills
  • Social landlords leading the way in transition to cleaner, more affordable electricity

 

 

Allume Energy, Wales & West Housing and the Welsh Government have today announced the first installation of Allume’s SolShare technology for the UK’s housing sector, to provide clean, affordable electricity to residential flats in Cardiff.

The project has connected 24 flats to lower cost solar energy at Odet Court, with the potential to meet 55%-75% of each flat’s electricity demand. Based on the average usage of 1800kWH – 2,400 kWh for a 1-bed flat this could equate to an electricity bill saving of around 50% (between £390 to £530) a year, based on current average electricity costs in the UK of 34p/kWh. The project has been funded by the Welsh Government in association with Wales & West Housing as part of the Optimised Retrofit Programme.

SolShare is the world’s only technology for connecting multiple residential units within a single building to a single rooftop solar PV system. Until now, previous options involved installing individual solar systems into each unit – a largely unworkable solution for developers due to cost, footprint and inefficient energy utilisation. In the case of Odet Court, this would have meant installing 24 sets of panels, 24 inverters and 24 batteries.

Not only has SolShare significantly reduced the amount of hardware and footprint required, it has also reduced installation costs as compared to a typical solar system. Its ‘dynamic sharing’ capacity also delivers an improved solar utilisation of over 25%. Importantly, SolShare is suitable for retrofit projects as well as new builds, as it does not require any changes to the existing supply and metering infrastructure.

“Wales is leading the way with the installation of this new technology,” commented Jack Taylor, General Manager Europe, Allume Energy. “We hope it will serve as a template for governments and social housing providers in the UK to provide cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades to multi-unit residences. Simple and affordable solutions are available, so it’s great to see governments and housing associations embracing innovative technologies which help tackle fuel poverty and climate change.”
Climate Change Minister Julie James said: “This is an exciting first of its kind project for Wales and exactly the type of thinking we need to see within the housing sector. The decarbonisation of homes plays a big part in our journey towards a Net Zero Wales by 2050 and I look forward to following this innovative project as works progress. At a time when costs are rising, improving the energy efficiency of homes will not only help us to deal with the climate emergency but also help families through the cost of living crisis. It’s another important step in our journey towards a stronger, greener, fairer Wales.”
Joanna Davoile, Executive Director (Assets) at Wales & West Housing said: “At a time when many people are facing difficult choices of whether to heat their homes or feed themselves and their families, it is only right that we explore ways to make our homes more energy efficient for our residents where possible. In recent years we have been trialling different methods of retrofitting older homes with energy-saving technologies but one of the main challenges has been how to fit PV panels and battery systems to our apartment homes so that everyone living in the schemes could equally benefit. The SolShare system seems to be a much fairer solution as the energy generated by the building can be shared equally to help our residents to keep their electricity costs down rather than going back to the grid. We are excited to see how the technology used in the SolShare system will work for our residents.”
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FUEL OF THE FUTURE

Founder and CEO, Tim Davies

Importance of Global Net Zero underlined as KPMG Private Enterprise names HiiROC Global Tech Innovator 2022.

In November, HiiROC was named winner of the KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator award at the final event in Lisbon, Portugal, overcoming fierce competition from over 1,100 applicants across 22 countries and jurisdictions during the national stages.

Tim Davies, HiiROC’s Co-Founder and CEO, said:
“It is such an honour for HiiROC to be selected as this year’s KPMG Private Enterprise Global Tech Innovator winner. The competition in the global finals was really impressive, and we’re thrilled to be recognized among such an amazing group of brilliant innovations and entrepreneurs. We sincerely thank KPMG Private Enterprise and our KPMG Private Enterprise UK team for their support at every step in the process. We’re ready and eager to take the next step forward for our company.” Davies continued, “The award is a great reflection of the amazing team at HiiROC, so we are applauding their work as much as possible.”

Conor Moore, Partner and Global Leader, KPMG Private Enterprise Emerging Giants, said:
“Last year was the competition’s inaugural year in which the bar was set incredibly high! With even more companies competing this year, I think the standard has risen to yet another level. We were so excited to be able to bring 22 future tech titans to the finalist stage and capture the world’s attention. These tech entrepreneurs are the builders of the future that should applauded and supported.”

Warren Middleton, KPMG Private Enterprise, Emerging Giants Leader in the UK, said:
“Hydrogen is the new green fuel of the future. We saw the potential in HiiROC immediately. We couldn’t be more excited about the recognition they have received today, and the opportunity to help them showcase their brilliant innovation, to continue to grow their business and transform the global energy system. As with all of the finalists in the competition, HiiROC is a modern success story of entrepreneurialism, innovation and ambition.”

 

HiiROC WEBSITE

 

HiiROC Background

HiiROC has developed and patented a new process for creating hydrogen: Thermal Plasma Electrolysis (TPE). Using a fraction of the electricity and cost of water electrolysis, HiiROC produces hydrogen without creating CO₂ – unlike steam methane reforming. TPE is an electrically driven process using a plasma torch to decarbonise hydrocarbons, releasing the valuable, high energy density hydrogen and solid carbon black. HiiROC was founded in 2019 in the UK to commercialise its technology, with development and assembly facilities based in Hull, UK, where there is ready access to engineering expertise.

During 2020 and 2021, HiiROC raised £30m from investors including Melrose, Wintershall Dea, HydrogenOne, Centrica, VNG, Hyundai, CEMEX and Kia. HiiROC is fully funded to commercialisation, with a series of pilots planned for 2023 across a variety of key hydrogen sectors: these include industrial decarbonisation, blending to the grid, transportation and power generation. Enquiries about commercial opportunities have come from across the globe in an increasing range of sectors.

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