Objective
A prototype of a newly developed agitator has shown great potential for energy reduction in agitator technology. The developed agitator was inspired by the way ducks move their feet in the water – a very energy-efficient way. Consequently we call the new agitator a bionic agitator. Now we want to validate the findings from the test of the prototype in a beta-phase test.
The idea to question the current agitator technology arose, while analysing the reasons for small biogas plants (<75kW, operating on organic waste) not being profitable. Martin Falger, the inventor of the bionic agitator and major shareholder of the wusoa GmbH, focused on the fact, that the highest fraction of the primary energy consumption of a biogas plant is needed for the agitator used in the same plant. The prototype of the bionic agitator has shown the potential to reduce this energy consumption by 60 per cent or more. Thus more of the produced energy in the biogas plant can be fed into the grid. As a result of this increase in the effective output it becomes more attractive to generate energy from organic waste – which means a 100% carbon neutral way of energy production and a great contribution to the EU goals of reducing emissions by 80% in 2050.
The proposed feasibility study includes a field test where the bionic agitator is installed in five existing biogas plants. One additional bionic agitator will be installed in the biogas plant of the University of Hohenheim (Stuttgart, Germany) to test it against a conventional agitator. The aim of the feasibility study is to obtain reliable data on the energy reduction, the material used and to get a solid feedback from potential customers.
We estimate that the European market for agitators in the biogas industry is approx. worth 2.7 billion euro. However the bionic agitator cannot only be used in the biogas industry – the energy savings make it attractive for any industry where fluids need to be stirred or mixed.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering water treatment processes wastewater treatment processes
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science dairy
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.3.3. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2014-2015
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
70499 STUTTGART
Germany
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.