OptiSpec will be introduced to breweries, where the first version of our solution has been already successfully tested. It will enable brewers to increase their productivity by 5-15% annually and reduce the carbon footprint of the brewing process. OptiSpec will also benefit bioethanol producers, who are currently struggling with very difficult market conditions. OptiSpec represents a breakthrough for this sector as it has the potential to increase the efficiency of their production process and increasing the yield by 1-2%, positioning this sector as crucial in helping the EU to achieve its transport decarbonisation objectives. OptiSpec will positively impact Specshell: by 2025, five years after market uptake, we expect to have 770 OptiSpec units installed worldwide. That year we will surpass the €65 million revenues, have 4 offices worldwide and employ up to 150 people.
Brewing
In the brewing industry the value proposition may be somewhat improved to what it was before the project was initiated. This is due to the fact that we chose to generate algorithms and models to accurately predict the performance of the fermentation, rather than develop an instrument for the brewing fermenters. The reasoning being that the current technology is too expensive for equipping all fermenters in a brewery.
Our value propositions are calculated based on a brewery producing 2mio hL of beer annually. This is a size we generally use, as it is a good average for the size of industrial breweries we generally target.
Summing the value propositions for an “average” industrial brewery, this equates to a potential annual increase in EBIDA/reduction in cost of €2.35 mio. Extrapolating this number to the largest breweries in the world the annual numbers is €14.1 mio. This of course does not account for the consistency benefit of the fermentation that the developed algorithms can result in, as that is a near impossible number to get out of the breweries.
Bioethanol
Looking at the bioethanol industry our industrial trials sites were respectively 2 times and 3 times smaller than an average sized bioethanol plant. The value propositions calculated with the first site (3 times smaller than average) was that the enzyme savings case could generate a saving of around € 50.000 /year. The infection intervention/mitigation case could potentially ensure a saving of around € 500.000 / year. Further, achieving a more consistent process, with a higher degree of “perfect” batches would also add to increase in EBIDA. All in all, it was estimated that around € 800.000 could be added to the EBIDA per year for this trial site, should they choose to equip all their fermenters with the new technology.
