DEVELOPMENT AND MARKET UPTAKE OF A SMART SYSTEM ABLE TO OPTIMISE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND POWER QUALITY WITHOUT AFFECTING LOADS

Project Information

ELECOTECH

Grant agreement ID: 807793

DOI

10.3030/807793

Project closed

EC signature date 13 February 2018

Start date 1 March 2018

End date 31 August 2018

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ELECGY SOLUTIONS S.L.
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ELECOTECH (DEVELOPMENT AND MARKET UPTAKE OF A SMART SYSTEM ABLE TO OPTIMISE ENERGYEFFICIENCY AND POWER QUALITY WITHOUT AFFECTING LOADS)

Reporting period: 2018-03-01 to 2018-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The improvement of Energy Efficiency (EE) is a central theme of the EU energy policy. In this sense, the industry is increasing concern about the energy consumption of its facilities, which is one of its biggest costs. One of the key approaches for energy efficiency in Industry is to improve the quality of energy, known as Power Quality (PQ), which is becoming more common due to the digitisation and increasing use of electronic devices in industry facilities.

The EU losses in industry, service and transport sectors due to PQ issues are estimated in 150 bn€/year, where 90% of the total losses accounted to the industries. The cost of poor power quality in the industry sector can reach 4% of annual turnover. However, the more worrying statistic is that 80% of power quality disturbances are generated within a facility, rather than from utility-supplied electricity. In this context, most of current solutions perform isolated PQ issues that do not take into account the load requirements, which can cause other EE problems that reduce the global electricity consumption savings of the whole facility.

The main objective of the project will be the optimization, demonstration and commercialization of a smart Energy Efficiency system (ELECOTECH) based on improving power quality without affecting loads. During SME Instrument Phase I, the objective has been to perform the technical feasibility study and develop the business plan to reinforce main ELECOTECH business aspects.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During Phase 1 of SME Instrument, two main activities have been performed:

- Technical assessment and feasibility of the concept, including the analysis of reliability, efficiency and survivability of ELECOTECH for different operating environments regarding electrical consumption. In this sense, it has been performed surveys among potential clients and contacts with stakeholders for analysis of end-user acceptance, standardisation or its potential involvement as prescribers for ELECOTECH commercialisation.

- Commercial assessment and economic feasibility, including market analysis, business and exploitation plans, the economic and risk assessment and the actions to expand and strength the stakeholders net during SME Instrument Phase I.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The progress beyond SoA, results and potential impact are related to main value propositions provided by ELECOTECH modules, which are:

1. Smart control with web interface to display high resolution data, alarms, reports, etc.
2. Volt regulation to reduce consumption of linear loads.
3. Power Quality regulation to reduce downtime and extend useful life of equipment.
4. Flexibility software to manage critical loads and participate in flexible markets.
5. Switching system to achieve safe, efficient and economic electricity.

These value prepositions will result in 15% of energy savings in industry, extend the useful life of the equipment up to 20% and avoid unexpected stops in customer premises, among other benefits.