Mobile pelletizing unit

Project Information

Proxipel

Grant agreement ID: 882623

DOI

10.3030/882623

Project closed

EC signature date 20 November 2019

Start date 1 December 2019

End date 30 April 2020

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

PROXIPEL SA
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Proxipel (Mobile pelletizing unit)

Reporting period: 2019-12-01 to 2020-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Due to the increasing focus on combating climate change and reducing CO2 emissions, there is a general interest in substituting fossil fuel with CO2 neutral biomass. The potential of wooden residues is enormous, as they are available and have attractive characteristics as high heating value and low content of ashes, which ensures a clean combustion in most furnaces.
Proxipel is the first mobile pelletizing unit able to crush, mill, dry, and press a big variety of renewable raw materials including wood. It produces 1 tonnes pellets/hour with a low energy consumption and only one operator.
The overall objective of the study has been to analyse the technical, commercial and financial needs in order to ensure a successful commercialization.

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

Based on the customer´s feedback and tests from the 1st generation Proxipel, technical issues have been addressed for further development. This includes main issues such as higher production rate, improvement of easiness to operate, better process control system, and adjusted layout. Likewise, the scaled-up production for the 2nd generation Proxipel has been planned and budgeted in a 24 months work plan (EIC Accelerator project). A detailed roadmap describing which markets to enter in the upcoming years has been made. We have made contacts with potential partners for further development and manufacturing of the 2nd generation Proxipel. From the commercial side, the objectives were to update our commercialisation strategy and refine our revenue model, estimate the market potential and the market share in key markets, with an update of the wood pellets and agropellets prices. Relevant standards and regulations have been studied to prepare for European market launch. Also, Proxipel’s FtO has been confirmed as there are no published patents which might prevent the patentability and commercial exploitation of the innovation. From the financial point of view, the objectives were to estimate the budget needed to bring Proxipel to the market and to perform a detailed forecast for the first 5 years of commercialisation.

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)

Proxipel maximizes this opportunity by offering an economically beneficial solution for the use of the already available wooden residues, increasing the energy output and the profitability per land without increasing the harvest level. Thus, Proxipel fits with the measures towards a Zero Waste Europe as well as the EU ambition of being climate-neutral by 2050

Proxipel's unit