Public Funding for Trusted Renewables Ltd

SME Trusted Renewables Ltd (TRL) undertakes R&D on Internet of Things (IoT) applied to smart energy and renewables with specific interest in using cryptocurrencies and blockchains for payments. This 3 month project includes presenting our ideas at the World Renewable Energy Congress XVI in Perth, Australia in February 2017 and as per the competition scope, we will meet potential collaborators from Singapore, India and Australia to help access worldwide renewable energy markets and help TRL grow non-EU markets and exploit IPRs. Global markets are growing fast. By 2020 there will be > 2bn solar panels worldwide and Gartner says £300 bn extra worldwide revenues will come from IoT products and services; 26bn smart devices will contain “$1 processors” and built-in M2M connectivity. TRL has patented the idea of putting a smart card chip into a solar panel as a metering module. This patent is granted or pending in >40 countries including UK, Australia, S Africa, India, USA, Japan and EU and we seek licencing and/or exploitation partners in all of the places.

India is now a middle income country but local electricity grids are unreliable and outages can last several hours. We explore innovative business and financing models for rooftop solar panels and local storage which can replace diesel generators and improve access to clean reliable energy. With reducing panel costs, feed-in- tariffs and net metering subsides are falling. However, installations need funding and we consider how blockchains and cryptocurrencies such as SolarCoins can reward investors or repay loans. These may also help local enterprises securely trade solar power in new ways. A key enabler is a smart card chip added to a solar panel which can be linked to distributed ledger technology to track large numbers of assets. They can also prevent fraud such as diesel generated power being claimed to be renewables. We will build a test-bed at University of Hertfordshire to demonstrate benefits of cryptocurrencies and distributed ledgers along with our smart solar panel hardware. We use this to share technical skills and expertise with local partners in South Asian or sub-Saharan African countries of interest to DFiD.

In January 2015 the Straits Times reported that new 5G mobile developments are being shaped in Singapore, where lack of space means building a “Vertical City”upwards. This supports their drive to become a smart nation. “Mainstream” 5G will have very large capacity, high throughput and ultra-low latency. However, new IoT services will involve masses of secure low-power Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices which need very little of this capacity to send data to a hub. We will hold workshops with our Singapore partners to explore how these requirements interplay with business cases of key stakeholders to justify investment in smart 5G infrastructure. We think new 5G standards may emerge to support different business models and value-chain players. Our team has considerable international R&D expertise covering all cutting edge technologies including Mobile, Wireless, M2M, IoT, Cyber Security, and Smart Energy.

This feasibility study looks at how new digital value chains arising from interconnected managed smart energy clusters in rural areas can stimulate economic development and commercial diversification. This includes incentives for supply and demand side efficiencies. Innovation comes from new cross-industry services stimulated by a combination of local energy assets and rural “interconnectedness” which can support new highly disruptive supply chains.

The Interoperable Open Digital Control Unit System Project (IODiCUS) seeks to demonstrate the technical viability and future market for a connected energy network, in buildings with microgeneration and local energy storage and optimised interaction with the electricity grid. The project builds on the "Interoperability of energy harvesting, storage and use" feasibiility study funded under the TSB Buildings Better Connected Call and will utilise algorithms executing dynamic decision making of the use of microgenerated electricity locally to the building, options for local storage, or for selling to, or buying back from, the electricity grid. It will use a representative set of buildings, residences and dwellings in and around the University of Bristol to demonstrate the efficacy of a Localised Energy System. It will develop Open Digital Control Units and Secure Communication Devices for measuring each energy input, store or output and develop algorithms that aim to delivering stable loads despite intermittency. IODiCUS will evaluate the technical and commercial merits, along with the future needs and constraints of the residential or business customer.

Trusted Renewables Ltd has patented an “intelligent” photovoltaic (PV) solar array which contains communications circuits based on mobile phone chips card and a SIM sealed into the panel. So far we have assembled several “lash ups” but not a complete unit. We have found a company who does prototype design, and we would like them to prepare a detailed, costed, manufacturing plan. This voucher will allow us to pitch for funding to take the product to market trials.

Title: Smart Poultry Farming. We address the Greenius programme with a project bringing together innovative near-market technologies into a smart solution which addresses the three challenges by examining the feasibility of a broiler solution that uses Ozone to purify air and water supplies linked to managed renewable energy technologies. We know of no other similar solution that combines the scientific application of Ozone with environmental sensors which sample contaminants and send data to a central location. This means that large numbers of broiler houses can be centrally managed using low cost Machine to Machine wide area data networks. We draw on emerging smart home devices which can contribute to the development of smart poultry farms which better manage energy, food and water resources in an efficient and sustainable manner. This also leads on to concept of the "Internet of Things" which the TSB is now investigating in other projects. The team consists of Trusted Renewables Ltd plus Biotech Industries Ltd and University of Hertfordshire (UH). Trusted Renewables are the Prime Contractor and are part of BT’s Innovation Martlesham project. Biotech Industries cover the biotechnology and farming elements of the project and UH have a new ‘smart’ systems laboratory. The team is also involved in the Smart Homes & Buildings Association (SH&BA) whose objective is to grow Smart Built Environment market. This includes farming. From technology perspective, the most of our components are based well-understood readily available technology. Agricultural buildings – especially broiler houses - are ideal locations for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Renewable energy from wind and anaerobic digestion are also valuable resources. As well as ozone generation systems, renewable energy can power broiler equipment which would otherwise take electricity from the grid. With many farms in remote areas, this can take the pressure off the electricity distribution network. The farm environment is challenging. The broiler shed is very dusty; particles can block up sensors and cover PV arrays and affect the performance the Ozone equipment. If we can solve these environmental problems, our solution should be capable of rapid commercialisation by applying emerging mass-market smart home techniques to sheds. There is a complex relationship between seasonal weather changes and production cycles and sensor networks can help maintain environmental variables at optimum levels and thus improve the productivity of the farm. Phase 2 commercialisation revolves round proving what has been developed can be assembled and sold commercially. Trusted Renewables will continue develop the technology whilst Biotech Industries take the solution to market, enhancing the credibility of their Ozone systems and growing the installed base of existing commercial solutions. Phase 2 also provides the opportunity to take new IPRs to market which includes Trusted Renewables' “intelligent PV arrays” patent. We feel we have a really promising technological innovation which falls exactly into the Greenius competition scope.

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