10092116River turbines for Net Zero Living; a user focused trial.ClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKKinetic Hydro Ltd. are the developers of a novel renewable energy system that generates power from the flow of rivers. These free stream, or hydrokinetic turbines, are fundamentally different to conventional hydropower systems, requiring no dams or pipelines that impound and extract water from natural rivers. These new turbines apply the same principles as tidal-stream and wind turbines scaled down to suit fast-flowing rivers. As such they are an easily installed, affordable and reliable form of electricity generation for homeowners and businesses in proximity to suitable fast flowing rivers. Kinetic Hydro's KH-Mini turbine is a small yet efficient device that can produce the same amount of electricity as is consumed by an average UK household over the course of the year. Installed on site it supplies electricity 'behind the meter' giving certainty to the owner that their energy is clean and renewable, and protecting them from volatile grid electricity prices. Power from river turbines is less intermittent than other small scale renewable sources such as domestic solar panels and wind turbines and is seasonally aligned with winter peaks in electricity use. Development of the turbine technology is already mature having been tested in controlled and real river conditions. It has not yet however been trialled for prolonged periods. In this project the company have engaged a cohort of exemplar users including homeowners, businesses, and charities. This group will have turbines installed on their properties for a period of about 6 months and will be engaged with and will provide feedback on all aspects of river turbine ownership from the user perspective. This user journey will embrace initial feasibility, installation, operation, and maintenance phases. By the end of the project Kinetic Hydro will have built a track record of real-world turbine operation and will have 'stress tested' their business processes. Feedback from the user group will have been used to create and improve a library of 'How To' guides covering all aspects of acquiring and owning a turbine, and a 'digital dashboard' will have been created for users to interact with turbine data. The company will then be positioned to launch this new product onto the UK market, providing homeowners and businesses with a new, dependable source of renewable electricity, to meet their Net Zero ambitions and to protect themselves from future escalations in grid electricity prices.