NEWS ECO POWER


ENERGY STORAGE SOLUTIONS LOOK TO ADDRESS BATTERY WASTE


instead of being required to order entire battery packs due to a few faulty cells. Founded by Brunel University graduate


O


ver the next three to four years in the UK, nearly three million


kilograms of battery waste is expected to come from electric vehicles purchased within the last five years. Given recent legislative support for low emissions transport, and projected sales of electric vehicles, this number is expected to increase exponentially. However, there are currently no facilities in the UK for the large volume recycling of these types of batteries. As a result, they are shipped overseas, at a significant cost. Aceleron is looking to address this


issue, while providing affordable energy storage solutions. It’s simple design, assembly process and cost effectiveness makes it perfect for the developing world. The design would allow solar panel installers to maintain lithium ion batteries


Aceleron www.aceleronltd.com


NEW TYPE OF FLEXIBLE SHEET HARVESTS LIGHT WINDS TO CREATE ENERGY C


ape Town is among the windiest urban locations in the world. Due


to poor infrastructure, it is also a city highly susceptible to power outages. It was these such factors in her home city that inspired budding entrepreneur, Charlotte Slingsby, to find an innovative way of utilising an abundance of available wind to create a renewable energy source in urban environments. The challenge of generating large


scale wind energy in a small scale way, to suit the needs of an urban population, was one that Charlotte Slingsby, founder of Moya Power set out to solve. Slingsby, a young South African entrepreneur now based in London, in 2015 developed Moya (meaning ‘wind in


the Xhosa language) - a new type of flexible sheet that harvests light winds to generate energy. Each Moya sheet is comprised of thousands of free standing filaments, which are embedded with a flexible piezoelectric film that converts strain energy caused by the movement of the wind into electrical energy. Unlike current wind turbines, Moya sheets take advantage of


Figure 1:


Charlotte Slingsby, developer of Moya


low-grade, un-obstructed winds and do not require strong wind currents in order to generate energy. Once installed, the material can operate consistently throughout the day, harvesting renewable energy 24/7.


Put simply, Moya is a low-carbon


solution to harnessing wind energy while conserving space at the same time. The sheets can be fitted onto many different surfaces, similar to the way in which solar panels can be applied to buildings, and hidden from public view, making use of otherwise redundant surfaces by turning them into ‘energy scavenging’ areas. Slingsby believes that Moya can be


utilised at scale across a range of building developments and cities – from major urban areas to countries lacking in adequate infrastructure like South Africa. She hopes that Moya will one day become so adaptable that it can be applied to all areas and no longer be seen as just a building bolt-on, but as an essential source of power for all new buildings, designed in from the outset.


Moya Power http://www.shell-livewire.org/alumni/smarter-future-programme-winners/2016-winners/charlotte-slingsby/ 22 SUMMER 2017 | ENERGY MANAGEMENT / ENERGYMANAGEMENT


Carlton Cummins, Aceleron is developing technology to transform end-of-life lithium batteries into safe, cost-effective energy storage applications like battery packs for wheelchairs or energy storage batteries for homes. To achieve this, the start-up has focused on three primary developments. First, Aceleron developed a testing process to identify which batteries are viable for reuse, and to measure how much energy is stored in them. In a field trial conducted with Brunel University, Aceleron found the cells from lithium batteries going to landfill could still have up to 89% of their original capacity. Second, the company developed robust assembly hardware which allows the viable cells (the part of the battery that stores energy) to be repackaged for new applications like energy storage. The third and final development is an innovative battery management system (BMS) which is designed to ensure the battery cells operate safely in their new applications. Aside from home energy storage - where battery packs are often used to supplement renewable energy sources - and help


Figure 1:


Carlton Cummins, Brunel University graduate


households use energy more efficiently, other applications Carlton has in mind for repackaged batteries are light mobility items such as electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters. The inspiration for Aceleron came directly from Carlton’s studies as a sustainability and entrepreneurialism student, combined with his three years of experience working in renewable energy in his native Barbados. “When I was working in the energy sector, I saw first-hand that sustainable energy often wasn’t accessible in developing regions,” says Carlton. “At Aceleron, we are driven by the vision of offering energy storage at an affordable price, so that it can be accessed by people who need it most. And the best way to do that is to make better use of an existing resource.”


Carlton and his business partner, Dr.


Amrit Chandan, a doctoral researcher from Birmingham University, recently filed for a patent on their battery assembly technology. They are planning to use the funding from the Shell LiveWIRE Smarter Future Award to build a demonstrator for this technology, in preparation for more formal trials in 2017.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36