Public Funding for Aegis Energy Ltd

ScanSpot combines cutting-edge multi-modal sensor Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR), thermal imaging and mmWave radar technology with machine-learning computer vision techniques to generate new risk classification data for the insurance industry to develop and cost new insurance products for renewable energy and freight/logistics customers. The project assembles a British consortium of Aegis Energy, Oxford University, Blenheim Renewables and Nomad Engineering, collaborating with insurance advisers FreightSafe and MDMG Consulting. The project builds on recent pioneering research by Oxford in multi-sensor detection and tracking of moving objects (DATMO) technology. The project responds directly to insurance and industry priorities to improve the safety and security of renewable energy and EV-charging facilities across the UK, and addresses ESG risks limiting the speed of EV-adoption in the commercial sector, and the impacts of growing renewables and cargo-theft crime on British communities. The shift to renewables in Britain has been accompanied by an evolution in the risks facing insurance companies and their customers. EV battery fires for instance are forecast to increase from 9,400 incidents in 2022 to 260,000 annually by 2035 (Thatcham Research, 2023). Police and insurers are also reporting a significant increase in the theft of high-value EV chargers and batteries, and copper/componentry from solar farms (Crimestoppers; TT-Club,2023). New risks add to the soaring problem of cargo theft costing insurers and the freight-forwarding industry upwards of £500m/year in 2022 (NaCVS). ScanSpot will deliver a cloud-based software product for the insurance industry and their customers to analyse, classify and mitigate risks such as fires, theft and unsafe vehicle behaviours. The system compiles 15 months of novel data collected from a new multi-sensor array prototype installed at two British renewables/EV charger facilities, and applies AI deep-learning models for automated anomalous incident flagging. Data and the results of the project will be shared widely with insurers, police and industry. With a user-friendly app interface, ScanSpot will empower security monitors to act with confidence on targeted situations deserving further investigation, and provide facility owners with confidence that their insurance premia are being appropriately costed according to actual risk. ScanSpot can save insurers and their customers considerable premium and claim costs whilst directly addressing ESG concerns such as high insurance costs limiting the speed of EV adoption, increased rates of anti-social crime affecting the renewables and freight/logistics industries, and excess emissions caused by criminal damage, theft and redeliveries.

Small-scale transport forms 50% of all road-traffic in Sub-Saharan Africa (McKinsey,2023), and +80% of Pacific island communities own a motorbike (ImpactEntrpreneur) which can be electrified economically and quickly to save ~253 million-tonnes of carbon emissions (CO2e) per year (OurWorldinData). Small-scale transport electrification in large parts of Africa and the Pacific however is held-back by inadequate electricity grid capacity. Fossil-fuel generators are increasingly called-upon to fill the gaps in intermittent-grid electricity supply, and to service off-grid electric vehicle (EV) charging. Project Zephattan will showcase the potential of three scalable zero-emission wind-based generator technologies in Côte d'Ivoire and Fiji to supply sufficient power to charge ~400 e-mobility batteries/day suitable for electric motorbikes/scooters, small boat outboards and drones. The project will demonstrate wind-generators' readiness to power remote and off-grid African and Pacific island electricity needs, and can save ~500-tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions in six-months of field testing. British SME and e-mobility chargepoint developer Aegis Energy is leading the project and will demonstrate: * 5 x 1.5kW low-cost "**Energy in a Box**" **(EnergyBox) wind generators** using only locally available recycled materials built by women and youth in four rural communities in Côte d'Ivoire. * 1 x 5kW British-built, high-resilience/low-maintenance **mixed wind/solar helical wind-funnel "Monopod"** with 86kWh battery supplied by subcontractor Amphibious Energy, to be installed and tested in Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire. * 1 x 14kW US-built, highly-portable **mixed wind/solar "Mobile Power Station"** **(MPS)** with 20kWh battery supplied by subcontractor Uprise Energy, to be transported and tested in a range of locations across Fiji. Aegis is collaborating with Abidjan-based local gender and social inclusion programming specialist and community-wind entrepreneur KOC Bridges to Peace, and Suva-based renewables development finance specialist Leaf Capital. Licensing and innovation agreements are in place with specialist wind-turbine suppliers Amphibious Energy and Uprise Energy. Project Zephattan meets use-cases currently served by fossil-fuel gensets in Côte d'Ivoire and Fiji: 1) off-grid battery charging, and 2) grid backup power. EnergyBox generators installed in Ivorian villages will demonstrate the ability of small-scale wind generators to replace gas generators at off-grid 12 volt battery charging stations. Monopod wind+solar and Uprise-MPS wind+solar in Côte d'Ivoire and Fiji will demonstrate higher-power and grid-backup generation. The project will test whether low-cost, locally-sourced technology like EnergyBox can deliver accessible, affordable, and reliable energy to small-scale electric vehicle chargepoints, or whether higher-specification products and components like those supplied in the Monopod and Uprise-MPS may need to be incorporated into Aegis' chargepoint designs.

The UK and Switzerland are pioneers in decarbonising transport, which in the UK was responsible for ~24% of all carbon-equivalent (Co2e) emissions in 2020 (BEIS). Reaching net zero emissions by 2050 necessitates significant transport infrastructure changes, including a 20-fold increase in electric vehicle (EV) chargers (Deloitte, 2022). On a global scale, the transition to electric vehicles calls for an investment of approximately £240bn in EV charging, electricity production, and grid-balancing battery infrastructure (McKinsey,2022). This UK--Switzerland Bilateral: Collaborative R&D opportunity has encouraged project partners Aegis Energy, Innovum and AKTEK to develop a new initiative called 'PayLoad', to help address challenges facing investment into new public EV charging infrastructure. PayLoad seeks to unlock private investment for public commercial vehicle (CV) chargepoints by linking predicted electricity grid demand with chargepoint operator (CPO) control systems. CVs in the UK produce roughly 10% of the country's Co2e emissions (ElementEnergy,2023). With the UK's imminent bans on new fossil-fuel CVs, and the recently passed Swiss Net Zero 2050 law, the electrification of vans and HGVs is accelerating in both countries. Complete electrification of CVs in the UK could demand 182-246TWh of new energy (Haugen-et-al, 2022), an amount equivalent to two-thirds of the UK's entire electricity production in 2019\. Department for Transport (DfT) commissioned research has highlighted the importance of optimising energy storage solutions and charging facilities to prevent risks to the grid and to secure investment (Haugen-et-al, 2022). The challenges facing Switzerland are similar as it seeks to reduce reliance on nuclear energy while rapidly decarbonising its industry (IEA,2023). PayLoad responds to these challenges by introducing enablers of CV electrification for both CPOs and end-user haulage and logistics fleets, linking: * predicted grid-demand at public CV electric charging stations, with * advance pre-booking of CV charging slots, enabling * improved efficiency of automated CPO equipment and grid-balancing control systems. PayLoad benefits CV fleets and drivers, as well as EV infrastructure developers and investors. With a user-friendly app interface, PayLoad's development will empower CV fleet managers to pre-book chargepoint slots, ensuring access to charging even at peak times. And by leveraging historical data and vehicle telematics, PayLoad allows CPOs and grid stakeholders to analyse grid use and vehicle movement patterns, layered with actual pre-bookings, to forecast demand. This data-driven approach enables CPOs to evidence the business case to infrastructure investors, and to right-size chargepoint power requirements, ultimately optimizing energy consumption and reducing the costs and risks of grid overload.