SunChip Projects B.V. expects to create over the course of the next 3 years 28 - 30 FTE in terms of employment for the pilot production site, and expects to accelerate scaling beyond that phase of setting up this new generation production.
The outlook for the fieldlab / innovation cluster is forseen to pan out as follows:
Economic perspective/market potential: Upscaling effectsof the commercial activitiesfor the province of Groningen focus on two aspects; additionalemployment for the asbestos remediation branch in the short term, their transition to service delivery for solar power installations, microgrids and other sustainable energy technologies, ànd the collective harvesting of sustainable energy for agribusinesses. With sufficient scale, scope and speed an full-fledged industry can be developed within a short amount of time. Specifically for the province of Groningen is the intention to start where the need is the highest, with the approximatley 1700 agricultural buildings and the 45 chemical companies (plus another 200 related companies) in Groningen’s earthquake zone where repairs of earthquake damage and related compensation can be used to not just solve a problem but turn it into a life-saver. Robotization allows asbestos plates to be removed at high speed ànd replaced with a solar roof plate during the same procedure(where the integration of solar panel and roof plate already reduces installation costs to a significant degree). That is a considerable cost-saver.If we keep to the lower priceindications, then the intended approach involves a minimum cost of €25/m2, apart from other indirect remediation costs, for which LTO Nederland and the ‘Economisch Instituut voor de Bouw’ estimates €40/m2, assuming standard costs of approximately €10/m2 removal and €15-40/m2 replacement. Robotization places asbestos removal in a lower class of risk, which results in a significant reduction in remediation costs.
If we want to transform the asbestos problem, from 2020 onwards, but before 2024, then this will involve 107, 166 and 613 jobs respectively. Mind you, this is without a correction in FTE since the required revenueper employee per year can be reduced due to the lowering in safety restrictions by robotizing the most dangerous work. The use of an asbestos-removal/roof-plate-roofing robot provides better protection in the workplace, specific safety requirements are automatically complied with, while integration of roof plate and solar panel, plus the easier installation, simplifies the work even further. Requirements normally imposed on asbestos installers, such as supervision on safety and environment, can be eased, but also secondary employer's costs such as training and insurance premiums can be reduced, while staff in a lower salary scale can be hired. The actual numberof extra jobs is therefore probably higher than estimated. In addition, follow-up orders and repeat business after the transformation of asbestos removal companies were not included in this calculation (new services on the basis of largely the same competences, but also shifting from project-based work with a finite earnings model to repetitive activities in, for example, subscription format) or customer acquisition in the new market. Roughly half of the jobs will translate into long-term employment contracts, but because of the innovative character (first-mover advantage and such path dependencies) the work can also fan out beyond the region and generate even more work. A potential pain point which should not be overlooked is that most agribusiness have a connection to the electricity grid of a maximum 3 x 80 Amps, which is considered for small businesses. However, the generated amount of electricity from an average barn falls within the area for large businesses(the turning point is already around 370 m2). For the new cabling to be installed, not only must selling surplus power back to the grid be taken into account, but also own use by ensuring sufficient on-site capacity, where these quantities cannot be offset against eachother as a simple addition but the different electric currents must be treated separately (so that even if 345 kVA is flowing through farm back into the grid via one of the three power phases, there may be a current flowing in the other direction on another power phase for a cooling installation). Depending on the supplier and connection capacity, the connection costs will then be between €24,000 and €40,000, but the largest cost item is the new cabling to be installed varying between €60 to €110 per meter (from 25 metersof length). In individual cases, this can add up considerably and makes collective arrangements very desirable, not only for an advantageous network topology (dedicated infrastructure), but also for the joint negotiating power of the collective.
Looking at the earnings model for the agribusinesses, we get at some 327 Mwh (megawatt hour)per year (2200 m2*148.8 kWh/m2), at the current rate of 6 cents per kWh it amounts around € 19,640. For the earthquake area, the province of Groningen and the North Netherlands region, this will be €33.4 mln(1700 * €19,640), €51.6 mln(2630 * €19,640) and €192.7 mln per year (9813*€19.640). After the payback time of 6 years (not counting the effects of other subsidy options such as MIA, VAMIL, EIA and KIA), this is pure profit and a welcome investment in the region and potential driver for further development to harvest energy.
