Public Funding for Fuel Active Limited

Fuel becomes contaminated from water, particulates and bacteria settling to the bottom of fuel tanks. Fuel contamination leads to engine damage, machine downtime and reduced productivity; particularly in construction and road haulage. FuelActive has achieved demonstrable success in the fuel solutions market through developing innovative retrofitted fuel-delivery and monitoring systems that help prevent breakdowns with two products currently: * **FuelActive:** Floating fuel-extraction pipe delivering the cleanest fuel, mitigating injector damage and engine failure * **iFuelActive:** Smart fuel-extraction unit utilising in-tank sensors/telemetry to remotely monitor fuel-quality This project will evolve FuelActive's conceptual 'Optimiser' design to create a seamlessly deployable solution across a variety of engine and fuel tank combinations that can be directly installed within equipment/vehicles during maintenance cycles or at pre-delivery inspections (aftermarket) and confirm unit technical specifications for production samples. Consequently, allowing Optimiser to attain vehicle Type Approval post-project and become highly-scalable within numerous vehicle production plants and fuel-types. Currently, fuel pick-ups fulfil a single function; to extract fuel and are static devices, resulting in exposure to contamination at the bottom of the tank. Optimiser combines a dynamic fuel pick-up with a fuel-sender to extract the cleanest fuel, with on-board fuel-quality monitoring; preventing contaminants entering the system. Real-time fuel temperature, quality, pressure and flow-analysis information will enable remote analytics, predictive maintenance and improve fuel-stock management (on-site/multiple vehicles). ECU integration provides benchmarks for fuel consumption, diagnostic alerts, engine performance, vehicle utilisation, route-planning, improved driver behaviour (over-revving, heavy-acceleration, harsh-braking, aggressive cornering, idling) and fuel/vehicle theft. Large inefficient diesel engines combined with high annual mileage accounts for 39% of the transport sector's CO2/NOx emissions (~5% of fossil-fuels) globally. Optimiser provides an immediate response for COP28, with ~5% CO2/NOx reduction; effectively removing 1-in-20 existing vehicles if adopted at-scale. This project will deliver a step-change to existing fuel-extraction systems by supplying the cleanest fuel from Day-1\.

Fuel becomes contaminated over time as it's handled and stored, with the contamination consisting of water, bacteria and particulates settling to the bottom of a tank and then being extracted by standard fuel pipes. Water in diesel is the leading cause of contamination. Contaminated fuel is endemic, with 26% of UK-retailers failing EN590 particle tests. There's currently no universal solution for prevention. Downstream, fuel contamination can lead to engine damage, resulting in machine/vehicle downtime and reduced productivity in many sectors (especially transportation and construction). FuelActive is an award-winning UK-SME, achieving demonstrable success through developing innovative retrofitted fuel delivery and monitoring systems that ensures the cleanest fuel is delivered to diesel engines. This prevents premature vehicle maintenance costs and breakdowns/downtime from contaminated fuel. Research in the industry and from FuelActive's customers indicates that there's an unmet need for the cleaning and monitoring of contamination levels of the fuel within large fuel storage tanks (fuel farms, oil refineries, forecourts). In this project, FuelActive will develop **Wahanu** (separator in Welsh), a pioneering technology that will be directly installed inside fuel storage tanks. Wahanu will fundamentally improve cleanliness throughout the fuel supply-chain by removing contaminants in primary storage (fuel farms and oil refineries). This will provide higher quality fuel to secondary storage (forecourts) and end-user engines. Subsequently, leading to significant positive UK economic impacts through improved fuel-efficiency and CO2 reductions of ~5% (end-user MVP testing). Wahanu will increase tank-farm storage capacity through reduced downtime, whilst simultaneously cleaning the tank and reducing regular maintenance needs. This will eliminate current industry hazards, where tanks are physically scrubbed clean (dangerous for humans). FuelActive will penetrate multiple use-cases including refining facilities, transportation, short-term storage facilities (underground/overground), feedstocks, terminals and point-of-sale hubs (airports, fuel stations (forecourts), trucking, shipping), delivering significant benefits for the UK and global fuel supply-chain.

Diesel fuel becomes contaminated from water, bacteria and/or particulates settling to the bottom of fuel tanks. Fuel contamination leads to engine damage, machine downtime and reduced productivity; particularly in construction, road haulage and mining sectors. FuelActive has achieved demonstrable success in the fuel solutions market through developing innovative fuel-delivery and monitoring systems that prevent breakdowns with two products currently: * **FuelActive:** Floating fuel-extraction pipe delivering the cleanest fuel, mitigating injector damage, engine failure, reduced fuel economy and worse emissions * **iFuelActive:** Smart fuel-extraction unit utilising in-tank sensors/telemetry to remotely monitor fuel-quality This project will develop the iFuelActive-PRO through development of a bespoke-pcb module which will confirm the relationship between fuel-quality/engine-performance/emissions, while offering customers predictive maintenance using machine-learning techniques. Currently, fuel pick-ups fulfil a single function; to extract fuel and are static devices, resulting in exposure to contamination at the bottom of the tank. iFuelActive-PRO will combine a dynamic fuel pick-up with a fuel-sender to extract the cleanest fuel, preventing contaminants entering the system; with on-board fuel-quality monitoring. Real-time fuel temperature, quality, pressure and flow-analysis information will enable remote diagnostics, predictive maintenance and improve fuel-stock management (on-site and multiple vehicles). ECU integration provides benchmarks for fuel consumption, diagnostic alerts, engine performance, vehicle utilisation, route-planning, improved driver behaviour (over-revving, heavy-acceleration, harsh-braking, aggressive cornering, idling) and fuel/vehicle theft. FuelActive has been proven to supply cleaner fuel, exhibiting zero failures post-installation, servicing the aftermarket demand and, potentially with OEM-integrated solutions. FuelActive is ideally positioned through existing relationships with large transport, construction and agriculture vehicle operators and manufacturers. Governments will encourage alternative technologies to diesel usage to reduce emissions, but diesel is widely used \[EnergyRep.2021\] and demand is expected at current levels globally until 2045, due to industrialisation \[Statista,2021\]. Operators are seeking to reduce maintenance/downtime and emissions, increase fuel efficiency, and generate cost-savings in multiple sectors. Large inefficient diesel engines combined with high annual mileage accounts for 39% of the transport sector's CO2/NOx emissions (~5% of fossil-fuels) globally \[IDTechEx,2020\]. iFuelActive-PRO provides an immediate response for COP26, with ~5% CO2/NOx reduction; effectively removing 1/20 existing vehicles if adopted at-scale. iFuelActive-PRO supports the UK's ambition of Net-Zero CO2 emissions by 2050, improving fuel efficiency, providing a "transition technology" for a lower-carbon economy and tackling roadside concentrations and nutrient imbalances in coastal waters/river-basins \[EPA,2018\]. iFuelActive-PRO supports new diesel regulatory standards that are becoming increasingly stringent for cleaner fuel (Stage5/Euro6/Euro7). UK-registered HGVs consume ~6.2mt/year of fuel \[ONS,2020\];~10.5mtCO2e/year \[~400gCO2e/km; UKGov,2021\].

Fuel becomes contaminated from water, bacteria and/or particulates settling to the bottom of fuel tanks. Fuel contamination leads to engine damage, machine downtime and reduced productivity; particularly in construction and road haulage. FuelActive has achieved demonstrable success in the fuel solutions market through developing innovative retrofitted fuel-delivery and monitoring systems that help prevent breakdowns with two products currently: * **FuelActive**: Floating fuel-extraction pipe delivering the cleanest fuel, mitigating injector damage and engine failure * **iFuelActive**: Smart fuel-extraction unit utilising in-tank sensors/telemetry to remotely monitor fuel-quality This project will develop an aftermarket solution, "Optimiser", directly installed within equipment/vehicles during maintenance cycles or at pre-delivery inspections. This will be supported by trial/testing partners and onboard ECU information will be analysed monthly. Currently, fuel pick-ups fulfil a single function; to extract fuel and are static devices, resulting in exposure to contamination at the bottom of the tank. Optimiser will combine a dynamic fuel pick-up with a fuel-sender to extract the cleanest fuel, with the option of on-board fuel-quality monitoring; preventing contaminants entering the system. Real-time fuel temperature, quality, pressure and flow-analysis information will enable remote analytics, predictive maintenance and improve fuel-stock management (on-site and multiple vehicles). ECU integration provides benchmarks for fuel consumption, diagnostic alerts, engine performance, vehicle utilisation, route-planning, improved driver behaviour (over-revving, heavy-acceleration, harsh-braking, aggressive cornering, idling) and fuel/vehicle theft. FuelActive has been proven to supply cleaner fuel, exhibiting zero failures post-installation, servicing the aftermarket demand and, potentially with OEM-integrated solutions. FuelActive is ideally positioned through existing relationships with large transport, construction and agriculture vehicle operators and manufacturers. Governments will de-emphasise diesel usage to reduce emissions, but diesel is widely used \[EnergyRep.2021\] and demand will hold at ~current levels globally until 2045, due to industrialisation \[Statista,2021\]. Operators are seeking to reduce maintenance/downtime and emissions, increase fuel efficiency, and generate cost-savings in multiple sectors. Large inefficient diesel engines combined with high annual mileage accounts for 39% of the transport sector's CO2/NOx emissions (~5% of fossil-fuels) globally \[IDTechEx,2020\]. Optimiser provides an immediate response for COP26, with ~5% CO2/NOx reduction; effectively removing 1/20 existing vehicles if adopted at-scale. Optimiser supports the UK's ambition of Net-Zero CO2 emissions by 2050, improving fuel efficiency, providing a "transition technology" for a lower-carbon economy and tackling roadside concentrations and nutrient imbalances in coastal waters/river-basins \[EPA,2018\]. Optimiser supports new diesel regulatory standards that are becoming increasingly stringent for cleaner fuel (Stage5/Euro6/Euro7). UK-registered HGVs consume ~6.2mt/year of fuel \[ONS,2020\];~10.5mtCO2e/year \[~400gCO2e/km; UKGov,2021\].

Fuel contamination is endemic, a global issue and results in incremental costs from engine damage and the voiding of warranties as exhibited in Tesco's 2018 Fuelgate scandal, where one contaminated tank cost Tesco £500,000 in damages \[Evans,2018\]. Fuel becomes contaminated over time and contamination is mainly a result of either water, bacteria and/or particulates settling to the bottom of the tank and then being extracted by standard fuel pipes. Fuel contamination can lead to engine damage, machine downtime and reduced productivity, particularly in sectors such as construction and agriculture. Research in the industry and from existing clients (Volvo, Komatsu) indicates that there is an unmet need for monitoring fuel within fuel tanks and the identification of contamination levels. Fuel Active Ltd. has achieved demonstrable success in the fuel solutions market through development of innovative fuel delivery and monitoring systems that ensures the cleanest fuel is delivered to engines, preventing breakdowns from contaminated fuel. Fuel Active's development to date has been twofold: * Floating fuel extraction pipe to ensure that the cleanest fuel is delivered to the engine, mitigating the risk of injector damage and engine failure * iFuelActive, a smart fuel extraction unit which uses in-tank sensors and telemetry to remotely monitor fuel quality (levels; water content; temperature; particulates) and report on any issues to equipment users. This 12-month project will further develop iFuelActive by applying machine-learning algorithms to deliver two solutions, low-cost and high-capability models, that will provide intelligent data analytics, supporting in predicting maintenance timelines and equipment life, and will highlight potential cost-saving practices for operators. Applicable to multiple sectors, project outputs will support reduced machine downtime, improved fuel efficiency and preventative maintenance, generating significant financial returns for customers.

Fuel becomes contaminated over time and contamination is mainly a result of either water, bacteria and/or particulates settling to the bottom of the tank and then being extracted by standard fuel pipes. Water in diesel fuel is the leading cause of contamination, causing pump and injector failures \[Parker, 2018\]. It is also the toughest to combat, with no universal solution for prevention as water precipitates to the bottom of the tank \[Axi International, 2019\]. Fuel contamination can lead to engine damage, machine downtime and reduced productivity, particularly in sectors such as construction (currently the least productive sector in the UK) and agriculture. Research in the industry and from existing clients (Volvo, Komatsu, GroundHog) indicates that there is an unmet need for monitoring fuel within fuel tanks and the identification of contamination levels. Currently, the only method to address this is to manually check the inline filters and conduct regular fuel tank cleaning which requires expensive, bulky tools. Fuel Active Ltd (FAL) are building on proven success in the fuel contamination market, having developed a floating fuel extraction pipe to ensure that the cleanest fuel is delivered to the engine, mitigating the risk of injector damage and engine failure. This proposed project is focused on developing **iFuelActive**, a smart fuel extraction unit which uses in-tank sensors and telemetry to remotely monitor fuel quality (levels; water content; temperature; flow rate, particulates) and report on any issues to equipment users. The reporting will be done via a control unit which sends data to equipment owners and users who can then incorporate preventative maintenance into their scheduling, whilst more accurately monitoring fuel levels across assets. This data-driven decision making will ensure reduced downtime and efficient fuel management within fleets. As the supply of cleaner fuel allows diesel engines to operate more efficiently, harmful emissions from exhaust gases are reduced, which helps these energy-intensive markets reduce carbon emissions, and assist the UK in achieving its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050\.