Periodic Reporting for period 3 - FUTURBINE (Transforming distributed energy generation through the FUTURe Gas TurBINE)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-09-01 do 2022-08-31
The objective of the FUTURBINE project is to support Aurelia’s growth strategy by demonstrating and validating the fuel flexibility and efficiency performance of Aurelia® A400 in an operational environment, by optimizing the company’s value chain and integrator partner model and by continuing commercialization activities for global market entry.
Aurelia has developed a highly innovative gas turbine with 40.2% electric efficiency, offering the most efficient solution for small-scale process and SME industry as well as offering a unique ability to burn multiple fuels including hydrogen. In Europe it would result in potential annual energy savings of at least €18 bn. Small-scale process and SME factories are a key part of Europe’s economy and employment, with over 20 million companies, such as dairies, breweries, and small chemical and building materials factories. Typically located in small towns or remote areas, they consume over 20% of the total energy in the EU.
Currently there is no economically feasible solution in the market for SME’s size range (< 2,000 kW); as a result, 90% of these SME factories use inefficient energy systems with high emissions. A400 fills this market gap. Furthermore, the combustion technology being deployed, will help the European Union achieve its aspirations of the REPower EU Plan initiative announced in May 2022.
Our technology brings delivers: most effective CHP <2 MW; highest electrical efficiency; lowest emissions; ability to burn a wide range of fuels; minimal downtime due to low maintenance, no lubricants; zero vibrations; and high economic profitability. We will bring the ground-breaking potential of our technology first to small-scale process industry, and, as the technology is easily scalable to larger energy ranges, then to other CHP markets, which are expected to be 2/3 of new electricity capacity by 2030. In addition, we have developed an innovative distributed integrator partner model, which has the potential to create new local jobs and skills in several EU countries through technology transfer. We also have the opportunity to provide a bridge to the use of hydrogen as a fuel as our technology is currently capable of burning fuel with percentages of hydrogen (up to 30%) and can extend this to 100% hydrogen when the fuel is available in the future. After Phase 2 we expect to commercialize A400 v 2.0 and reach payback by 2nd year after Phase 2 with cumulative profit of €30.6 M and ROI of 514% by 2025.
Aurelia has developed a highly innovative gas turbine with 40.2% electric efficiency, offering the most efficient solution for small-scale process and SME industry as well as offering a unique ability to burn multiple fuels including hydrogen. In Europe it would result in potential annual energy savings of at least €18 bn. Small-scale process and SME factories are a key part of Europe’s economy and employment, with over 20 million companies, such as dairies, breweries, and small chemical and building materials factories. Typically located in small towns or remote areas, they consume over 20% of the total energy in the EU.
Currently there is no economically feasible solution in the market for SME’s size range (< 2,000 kW); as a result, 90% of these SME factories use inefficient energy systems with high emissions. A400 fills this market gap. Furthermore, the combustion technology being deployed, will help the European Union achieve its aspirations of the REPower EU Plan initiative announced in May 2022.
Our technology brings delivers: most effective CHP <2 MW; highest electrical efficiency; lowest emissions; ability to burn a wide range of fuels; minimal downtime due to low maintenance, no lubricants; zero vibrations; and high economic profitability. We will bring the ground-breaking potential of our technology first to small-scale process industry, and, as the technology is easily scalable to larger energy ranges, then to other CHP markets, which are expected to be 2/3 of new electricity capacity by 2030. In addition, we have developed an innovative distributed integrator partner model, which has the potential to create new local jobs and skills in several EU countries through technology transfer. We also have the opportunity to provide a bridge to the use of hydrogen as a fuel as our technology is currently capable of burning fuel with percentages of hydrogen (up to 30%) and can extend this to 100% hydrogen when the fuel is available in the future. After Phase 2 we expect to commercialize A400 v 2.0 and reach payback by 2nd year after Phase 2 with cumulative profit of €30.6 M and ROI of 514% by 2025.
The main results achieved during the final year of the project:
WP1 progress has been slow but positive. The design and manufacture have undergone a rigorous review resulting in changing components to enhance life and performance.
WP2 The design for the new manufacturing facilities focused on the testing facility. Cost down exercise has resulted in a redesign of the enclosure and repositioning of the layout of the turbine components & controls. The use of standard containers has contributed to progress. Gaining ISO9001 is significant, the process has started with the initial training by the European Innovation Council. The Company has also adopted MS Teams which has gained efficiency, communication and process flow.
Progress in WP3 has been delayed. The integrator partner candidates have been identified and initial agreements negotiated. Training has not been undertaken; training will occur after the completion of the project but before the end of 2022.
WP4, the exploitation and commercialisation strategy and the certification have started. The certification aspect will take longer than the project; the task has been clearly defined and work started to gain the necessary permits. The Company set itself a target of 15 channel partners; by the end of the project Aurelia has i25 channels and received orders operating on syngas.
WP5, dissemination of the FURTUBINE has been significant. The continued reluctance of the business community to travel following the pandemic and the emergence of virtual platforms has been perpetuated in the final year. This has allowed the company to access wider audiences than would have been possible pre-Covid 19, as a consequence Aurelia has business partners in Australia and South America which is ahead of schedule.
WP6, a risk management plan has been updated with some additional risks added, including Covid-19. We expanded the scope of our IPR portfolio. Two patents have been granted in Europe, USA, and Asia. Trademark registration has also been approved in new countries. We have a technology watch allowing freedom-to-operate. Aurelia now has 19 patents. Due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia a change in strategy was necessary. Mid-2022 it was decided that all links with Russian partners would cease. The company has not paid the fees in relation to maintaining patent registration in Russia (and CIS). This is due to the lack of confidence in the ability of EU entities to rely upon the integrity of the Russian legal system.
WP1 progress has been slow but positive. The design and manufacture have undergone a rigorous review resulting in changing components to enhance life and performance.
WP2 The design for the new manufacturing facilities focused on the testing facility. Cost down exercise has resulted in a redesign of the enclosure and repositioning of the layout of the turbine components & controls. The use of standard containers has contributed to progress. Gaining ISO9001 is significant, the process has started with the initial training by the European Innovation Council. The Company has also adopted MS Teams which has gained efficiency, communication and process flow.
Progress in WP3 has been delayed. The integrator partner candidates have been identified and initial agreements negotiated. Training has not been undertaken; training will occur after the completion of the project but before the end of 2022.
WP4, the exploitation and commercialisation strategy and the certification have started. The certification aspect will take longer than the project; the task has been clearly defined and work started to gain the necessary permits. The Company set itself a target of 15 channel partners; by the end of the project Aurelia has i25 channels and received orders operating on syngas.
WP5, dissemination of the FURTUBINE has been significant. The continued reluctance of the business community to travel following the pandemic and the emergence of virtual platforms has been perpetuated in the final year. This has allowed the company to access wider audiences than would have been possible pre-Covid 19, as a consequence Aurelia has business partners in Australia and South America which is ahead of schedule.
WP6, a risk management plan has been updated with some additional risks added, including Covid-19. We expanded the scope of our IPR portfolio. Two patents have been granted in Europe, USA, and Asia. Trademark registration has also been approved in new countries. We have a technology watch allowing freedom-to-operate. Aurelia now has 19 patents. Due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia a change in strategy was necessary. Mid-2022 it was decided that all links with Russian partners would cease. The company has not paid the fees in relation to maintaining patent registration in Russia (and CIS). This is due to the lack of confidence in the ability of EU entities to rely upon the integrity of the Russian legal system.
It was intended that by the end of the project the high efficiency performance would be validated. Regrettably, this will now occur 4 months after M36. It is known the initial A400 will only achieve 75-80% of the original specification relating to electrical output and efficiency. The necessary changes and enhancements will take until mid-2023 to be implemented. Notwithstanding this, the A400 does perform and is uniquely operating on synthetic gas. The A400 successfully undertook customer acceptance testing at Aurelia’s facility.
A400 is the first turbine in the world that successfully addresses the power and heat demand of small-scale process and SME industry. The energy consumed by SMEs - our target market - represents globally around 13% of total energy consumption, while in Europe this value reaches 20%.
The A400 has been designed with the strategic innovation of being able to operate on a wide variety of fuels. Growing interest in exploiting renewable fuels makes the A400 an obvious choice, being able to run on biogas, hydrogen-rich synthetic gases from industrial processes, biomass gasification, “lean gases” (high proportion of inert gas content, such as nitrogen and CO2) and even pure hydrogen. This means that the A400 is ideally suited to be coupled with renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, where “power to gas” (P2G) is being used to store excess capacity, the resulting hydrogen or methane being suitable fuels for the A400.
CHP solutions are inherently designed to boost the efficiency of companies’ energy efficiency, to reduce costs, and in turn fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. FUTURBINE is completely aligned with this objective of the EU Green Deal and the REPowerEU initiative, providing a high-efficiency CHP solution, specifically targeted to a market segment that is underrepresented in taking advantage of this technology; that being SMEs, as well as helping achieve sustainable power generation without relying upon fuel supplies from a country under the control of an authoritarian and exploitative regime.
At its most dramatic, FUTURBINE gives companies the ability to reduce their CO2 emissions to zero, or close to it, by using hydrogen fuel (from P2G for example), or biogas (which is considered to have no net additional CO2), or industrial process syngas and allow the EU to start to execute of its desire to become self-sufficient on energy production away from Russian gas.
A400 is the first turbine in the world that successfully addresses the power and heat demand of small-scale process and SME industry. The energy consumed by SMEs - our target market - represents globally around 13% of total energy consumption, while in Europe this value reaches 20%.
The A400 has been designed with the strategic innovation of being able to operate on a wide variety of fuels. Growing interest in exploiting renewable fuels makes the A400 an obvious choice, being able to run on biogas, hydrogen-rich synthetic gases from industrial processes, biomass gasification, “lean gases” (high proportion of inert gas content, such as nitrogen and CO2) and even pure hydrogen. This means that the A400 is ideally suited to be coupled with renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, where “power to gas” (P2G) is being used to store excess capacity, the resulting hydrogen or methane being suitable fuels for the A400.
CHP solutions are inherently designed to boost the efficiency of companies’ energy efficiency, to reduce costs, and in turn fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. FUTURBINE is completely aligned with this objective of the EU Green Deal and the REPowerEU initiative, providing a high-efficiency CHP solution, specifically targeted to a market segment that is underrepresented in taking advantage of this technology; that being SMEs, as well as helping achieve sustainable power generation without relying upon fuel supplies from a country under the control of an authoritarian and exploitative regime.
At its most dramatic, FUTURBINE gives companies the ability to reduce their CO2 emissions to zero, or close to it, by using hydrogen fuel (from P2G for example), or biogas (which is considered to have no net additional CO2), or industrial process syngas and allow the EU to start to execute of its desire to become self-sufficient on energy production away from Russian gas.