Development and Integration of Biomass and Concentrating Photovoltaic System for Rural and Urban Energy Bridge: BioCPV

Lead Research Organisation: University of Exeter
Department Name: Engineering Computer Science and Maths

Abstract

Given the threat posed by global warming it is widely accepted that the reliance on fossil fuels for our energy need must decrease rapidly. To tackle the global threat and self dependency on fossil fuels, renewable energy such as solar, wind, wave and biomass gives the pathways to reduce the overall CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. This project addresses the issues related to integrated solar photovoltaic system - converting incoming solar energy into electricity and biomass power technologies - generation of electrical power from waste materials, for rural electrification.
This project seeks to develop a new class of solar photovoltaic technologies - Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) to integrate with Biomass and waste power generation as a backup source and develop high efficiency hydrogen generation and storage from the integrated systems. The integrated system will be installed at Uttar Sehalai Tribal Hamlet, located in a remote village, 200km west of Calcutta for rural electrification with key focuses on satellite based remote monitoring technologies. The village comprised of 80 households and has a population of approximately 400. It is located very close to Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan (a probable World Heritage Site).
The scalable prototype developed in this project will be the first ever such integrated system (Biomass, CPV and Hydrogen) for the provision of electricity that will be installed in India. Due to the lack of electricity in the village, the major fuels currently used are kerosene, firewood and wood based raw coal. Most of the nearby villages are also without any grid connections and as a result, children from the poorer families do not have the motivation and necessary resources to take advantage of basic education and health. Many of them that start schooling are forced to discontinue their studies due to the need to work to provide for their families. Availability of energy is a critical driving factor in economic development, while limited fossil fuel resources and environmental hazards drive the need for sustainable and environmental friendly solutions based on renewable energy. Thus, the project will brings together Biomass, Concentrating Photovoltaic, and Hydrogen Generation and Storage expertise from University of Leeds, Heriot-Watt University, University of Nottingham in the UK and Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, PSG College of Technology in India with the goal of developing a low cost autonomous power generating system for rural electrification.

Planned Impact

DIRECT BENEFICIARIES:
Commercial Private Sector:
Several industries such as NaREC, ANSYS, West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Limited (Green Energy), Genotex and Rensol Power Limited have expressed an interest in participating in the project as detailed in their 'letter of support'. NaREC will benefit from this project by the new developments of concentrating photovoltaics system. ANSYS will benefit from the new algorithm development in computational fluid dynamics techniques for biomass power generating system. Green Energy will benefit from the different renewable energy system integration techniques and their application to the rural society. Genotex will benefit from the development of Solar and Biomass integrated control algorithm development and Rensol power will benefited from the development of novel, low-cost and high efficiency solar energy technology proposed - a new class of concentrating Photovoltaic devices. Developing optics, receiver and integration for solar power generation in CPV system is the challenging issue. In addition, Genotex and Rensol will potentially commercialise the new development given a successful outcome of the project in relevant areas as stated in their letter of support.
Training of Researchers:
This project will support 13 PDRAs (3 PDRA in the UK and 10 PDRA in India) and 10 PhDs (4 in the UK and 6 in India) and the training and development that we have planned in this research will provide personnel fit for the renewable energy industry, high performance modelling industry and digital technologies. This will create technical expertise in their specific tasks. In addition, bi-lateral research staff exchange will enhance their educational experience, cultural exchange to prepare them for being top researchers in the global platform.
Indirect Beneficiaries:
Successful outcome of this proposal will have a greater impact on wider economics and to the society in both the UK and India via the development of low cost and high efficiency autonomous power generating systems. In addition, wider acceptance of BioCPV technology in rural parts will directly benefit society by reducing environmental pollution. In addition, being experts in Solar energy, Biomass, Hydrogen generation/storage, power electronics and rural energy needs in two continents, all the academics in this consortium have the opportunity to share the valuable knowledge of their own expertise to the wider public and policy makers. Some of these research developments will provide valuable information to the regional and national government agencies and policy makers to influence decision making for the deployment of low carbon technologies.
In the most remote Indian villages, uncontrolled modes of localised power generation lead to large-scale environmental pollution over time. The project is being implemented in a remote village where the villagers have no access to conventional grid power and the community has only a single option for power generation that of using conventional fuel, generating flue gas exhaust, causing environmental degradation and health problems. This project, which utilises solar and biomass power, will not only eliminate environmental degradation but will also provide an educational example to this new generation, where the illiteracy rate is almost 100%.
 
Description An integrated renewable energy system comprised of Bio energy system (AD based) and photovoltaic based solar energy system was developed and demonstrated for autonomous power supply to a rural village in India. The integrated renewable energy system is providing power supply to 12 household in the village where no electricity is available. the project developed high efficiency and low cost PV system, Anaerobic digester and hydrogen system to work in integrated fashion for power supplies.
Exploitation Route Two further projects were funded based on the outcome of this project. a further integrated project will be demonstrated in partnership with industry both in UK and India for further consideration. Additionally, it has developed a spinout company called buildsolar limited.
Sectors Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology
URL http://biocpv.ex.ac.uk/index.html
 
Description It has developed a spinout company called BuildSolar Limited
First Year Of Impact 2017
Sector Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology
Impact Types Societal,Economic
 
Description Embedded systems for Integrated Photovoltaics in Rural Buildings: E-IPB I
Amount £800,000 (GBP)
Funding ID 71208-481703 
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2017 
End 03/2019
 
Description Joint UK India Virtual Clean Energy Centre
Amount £5,000,000 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/P003605/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2016 
End 09/2020
 
Description Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network
Amount € 290,000 (EUR)
Funding ID H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015 Grant Agreement 674801 
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 10/2015 
End 09/2019
 
Description Supergen solar challenge - I
Amount £2,400,000 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/K022156/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2013 
End 10/2017
 
Description UK India smart grid and energy storage programme
Amount £950,000 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/K03619X/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2014 
End 01/2017
 
Description PSE Process Simulation 
Organisation Siemens Process Systems Engineering Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Research team is working with PSE software to develop virtual reality dynamic simulation of the power plants. In addition we provide data from pilot scale facility to validate the new models.
Collaborator Contribution Providing technical support, seminars and software.
Impact A number of journal publications joint submission of research proposals joint seminars, workshops and CPD courses
Start Year 2015
 
Description joint research 
Organisation Fraunhofer Society
Department The Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBMT)
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution development of concentrated solar cells
Collaborator Contribution material optimisation of the CPV devices
Impact joint publications and seminars, EU proposal applications
Start Year 2010
 
Title Butterflies as Photovoltaic Concentrators 
Description An optical concentrator is described that comprises an element associated, 5 in use, with a photovoltaic panel, the element comprising or having applied thereto a series of spaced nano-particles in the form of or optically equivalent to pterin containing beads. By way of example, the element may comprise a coating applied, in use, to a photovoltaic panel, the coating comprising pterin containing nano-beads. 
IP Reference GB1509621.7 
Protection Patent application published
Year Protection Granted 2015
Licensed No
Impact This has huge potential of developing low cost solar power technology where weight power ratio is a key concern.
 
Title Construction Block with Photovoltaic Device 
Description This invention relates to a construction block for use in a building, the block preferably being of transparent, light transmissive form, and which includes a photovoltaic device to permit the generation of electricity. The use of transparent, typically glass, blocks in buildings to form internal partitions whilst allowing light to pass through the partitions, or in the formation of sections of external walls which allow the transmission of light therethrough is well known. Such blocks are sometimes of solid glass form, but other arrangements in which the blocks are of hollow form are also known, such arrangements being advantageous in that they are of reduced weight and material cost. The incorporation of photovoltaic cells into or onto building structures to allow the generation of electricity is also well known. By way of example, large photovoltaic panels are often located upon or incorporated into the roofs of buildings or are mounted upon the external walls of buildings. Arrangements are known in which photovoltaic panels or cells are incorporated into glass blocks, alongside rechargeable batteries or the like and electrically operable light emitting devices such as light emitting diodes to form a solar powered light which may be incorporated into a structure, for example in the walls or floors thereof. However, in arrangements of this type, the panels or cells and other components substantially prevent the passage or transmission of light completely through the block, and so such devices are unsuitable for use in the formation of light transmitting wall or floor sections. Large solar cells are usually of opaque form and so incorporation of such panels or cells into a transparent block would prevent the block from allowing the transmission of light from one surface thereof to another. Clearly, therefore, the incorporation of large solar cells into transparent blocks intended for use in the construction of a light transmitting region or section of a wall, floor or partition is not appropriate. Arrangements are known in which solar collector devices are used to allow smaller dimension photovoltaic devices to be used and so allowing a quantity of light to pass completely through the block. Such arrangements allow the generation of electricity whilst being suitable for use in the construction of a light transmissive partition. Where used in part of an exterior wall of a building, it is desirable for a transparent block to not only allow the transmission of light between opposing surfaces thereof in order to achieved the desired function of admitting light to the building, but also for the block to be of good thermal insulating properties so as to avoid significantly negatively impacting upon the overall thermal insulating properties of the building in which they are used. Known arrangements are of relatively poor thermal insulating properties and so are unsuitable for use in such applications. It is an object of the invention to provide a block suitable for use in such applications and in which at least some of the disadvantages associated with known blocks are overcome or are of reduced effect. According to the present invention there is provided a block comprising an input wall and an output wall spaced apart from the input wall, a void being formed between the input wall and the output wall, wherein the input wall has a plurality of projections formed integrally therewith, the projections extending toward the output wall and serving to disrupt convection currents forming in the void, at least one of the projections comprising a solar concentrator which has a photovoltaic device mounted thereon. The projections preferably stop short of the output wall, but arrangements are possible in which they extend substantially to the position of the output wall, being spaced therefrom only by a sufficient distance to permit the mounting of the photovoltaic device thereon. It will be appreciated that in such an arrangement, as the photovoltaic device is mounted upon a solar concentrator, it need not be of large dimensions. Consequently, a significant quantity of light is able to pass the photovoltaic device, passing from the input wall to the output wall, and so the block is suitable for use in applications in which it is desired to allow light to enter a building, whilst still allowing electrical energy to be generated. By providing projections which disrupt the formation of convection currents in the void, the thermal insulating properties of the block are enhanced. The projections preferably extend to positions spaced from the input wall by at least 25% of the spacing between the input wall and the output wall. Preferably, they extend to positions spaced from the input wall by 30-60% of the said spacing. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that the formation of convection currents is significantly disrupted, in use, by the projections. At least one of the input wall and the output wall preferably has a peripheral wall formed integrally therewith, the peripheral wall extending towards the other of the input wall and the output wall. Preferably, peripheral walls are associated with both the input wall and the output walls, the peripheral walls engaging one another to space the input wall and the output wall apart from one another, the input wall, the output wall and the peripheral walls together defining the void. The peripheral walls may be cold fused to one another. However, if desired, other securing techniques may be used. The projections may be arranged in a regular array. However, other patterns may be used, if desired. When viewed from the input wall, the parts of the block formed with the solar concentrator(s) and photovoltaic device(s) will appear as dark spots or regions. By appropriate positioning of the projections, a desired visual appearance may be achieved. For example, the dark spots may be arranged to give the appearance of dark lines. If desired, certain of the projections may have no photovoltaic device associated therewith. Instead, they may have a coloured element associated therewith, with the result that the block appears to have coloured spots or regions thereon or therein. Again, by appropriate location of the projections, a desired visual appearance may be achieved. The outer face of the input wall may be shaped to include domed regions aligned with the projections. The domed regions may serve to increase the angle of incidence with which light is able to enter the projections. The output wall may be patterned to provide a desired visual effect. By way of example, it may be textured to provide an obscure glazed effect. Alternatively, through the use of coloured elements mounted upon the projections the block may give the effect of a series of coloured spots or pixels. Where a plurality of photovoltaic devices is present, they are conveniently connected together, and output conductors from the devices are preferably arranged to pass from the block, for example through an opening formed in the output wall or between the input and output walls. The projections may take a range of forms. Where serving as solar concentrators, they are preferably shaped in such a manner as to define an input side of, for example, substantially circular or elliptical shape and an output side of, for example, substantially square or rectangular shape. Whilst the aforementioned shapes are convenient, other shapes may be used. By way of example, the input and/or output sides may be of polygonal shape such as being of hexagonal shape, or they may be of non-regular shape. The photovoltaic device is preferably of substantially the same dimensions as the output side. The input sides of adjacent ones of the solar concentrators are preferably spaced apart from one another. 
IP Reference GB1705840.5 
Protection Patent application published
Year Protection Granted 2017
Licensed No
Impact Our technical impact has been very strong on the glass block industry wherein we have completely transformed a standard construction material into an innovative energy solution. Prototyping of our first product Solar Squared is in progress and we hope to complete it by August this year. Further new designs of the product are being developed for the next round of prototyping. Socially we have presented our product to the public, researchers and school children visiting the Environment & Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter. We have also participated in the stakeholder workshop on BIPV technologies organized by BRE. Through this workshop we have introduced our product to existing BIPV manufacturers and gathered their feedback, understand the wider challenges BIPV industry faces and unlock routes for future developments. The Solar Squared unit will improve the performance of a widely used building material (glass block). The function of architectural glass blocks is to allow daylighting, and lower artificial lighting loads. Thus, Build Solar have reduced the active cell area of the PV, while still pulling back efficiency and yield by concentrating incoming light. The power density at standard tests conditions is analogous to approx. 25 Wp/m2. This compares well with amorphous silicon and organic photovoltaics which also have a similar power density. With the addition of the concentrators and solar cells in the block, internal convective air currents are reduced which in turn improves the thermal insulation performance of the block versus the standard hollow version. The traditional glass block has a U-Value =2.8 W/m2 K. Solar Squared Glass Block aims to reduce this by up to 50 %. The improvement of U-Value to 1.4 W/m2 K will result in thermal energy savings of 0.51 kWh/annum/block. This equates to Year 1 savings of 69,700 kWh, the equivalent of 6 houses' energy demand. By year 4 this is 4,056,114 kWh or 347 houses (based on U-Value improvement from 2.8 to 1.4 W/m2 K, Year 1-unit sales of 136,400 units, year 5 unit sales of 7,937,600 units and an average UK household energy usage of 11,700 kWH p.a.). The CO2e savings equate to 24t CO2e saved in Year 1 rising to 1,425t CO2e by Year 4 (based on UK grid CO2e grid electricity of 0.35156kg CO2e/kWH, BEIS Carbon Factors 2017). The price per tonne of carbon saved equates to ?73k in Year 1 falling to just ?11k per tonne by Year 4. Assuming full market adoption to 114m glass blocks this results in carbon savings of over 20,000t per annum. The concentration concept is not new and has been proven in other concentrating solar technologies. In the case of Solar Squared, the team at Exeter have chosen a relatively low power concentrator which magnifies by a factor 3 - 6. This allows the concentrating lens to have a wide angle of acceptance (ca. half acceptance angle 35°), meaning that contrary to typical high concentration application which need dual axis tracking, a vertically installed south facing Solar Squared array should be able to receive light for at least 7 hours a day. The Energy Payback Time of the system can be as low as 3yrs which is comparable to current rooftop PV technologies, something that current BIPV struggle to deliver. The Energy Return On Investment of Solar Squared is targeted to be less than 5 years with an estimated equivalent carbon footprint of 20g CO2e/kWh energy generated. Based on the BEIS toolkit for valuation of energy use the Year 4 energy savings have an NPV of?619,280 and an annualized NPV.
 
Title CFD modelling tool for Anaerobic Digester based bioenergy system 
Description High precision computational fluid dynamics model was developed to optimised AD system 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2013 
Impact It optimise the AD system for a given climatic conditions 
 
Title Discretised Thermal model for concentrated photovoltaic system 
Description Grid indecent thermal model was developed for characterisation of concentrated solar photovoltaic system, which enables to predict material's temperature. 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2014 
Impact It predict the component level temperature within a CPV system and material's effect with the temperature. 
 
Title Energy Vector model for integrated renewable energy system 
Description An energy vector model was developed to optimise the energy flow for a Bioenergy, Solar and Hydrogen based energy system, which includes different energy resources and variability independently. 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact This unique software enable to configure integrated renewable energy system for a cost effective manner. 
 
Title Integrated optical and thermal modelling tool for photovoltaic system 
Description Integrated model for concentrated photovoltaic system was developed which includes optics and heat transfer and its electrical performance of the CPV system, 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2014 
Impact It enables to predict full performance of the CPV system which includes, optics, heat transfer and electrical performance. 
 
Title New Metal hydride based hydrogen storage material 
Description New alloys for hydrogen storage was developed by the university of Nottingham, which increased the density and reduct the cost of hydrogen storing system 
Type Of Technology New Material/Compound 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact High capacity hydrogen storage facility developed 
 
Title Optical modelling tool for concentrated photovoltaics system 
Description In-House developed optical modelling tool was developed for optical characterisation of concentrated photovoltaic system, it enables to calculate flux distribution of the solar cell for any photovoltaic system 
Type Of Technology Software 
Year Produced 2014 
Impact Due to highly intermittence of solar radiation in cloudy conditions, it is difficult to calculate the solar uniformity of the solar flux at solar cell, which was developed by an automated process using the optical model. 
 
Company Name Build Solar Limited 
Description Company Profile: Build Solar are a recent spin-out from the University of Exeter (June 2017), following five years of solar concentrator research led by Dr. Hasan Baig and Prof. Tapas Mallick. The company seeks to develop and commercialize innovative construction materials by embedding advanced photovoltaic technology into them. These construction materials also classed as Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) replace an element of the building skin/ facade and easily integrate within the built environment. Build Solar's first patent pending product "Solar Squared" transforms the widely used Glass Blocks into a multifunctional product that provides electricity, daylighting and improved thermal insulation. Typical Glass Blocks are used on the exterior walls of a building to provide daylighting and privacy to the indoor environment. However, the void inside these glass blocks leads to thermal losses and hence higher U-Values. Solar Squared incorporates a plurality of glass projections inside this hollow space serving to disrupt convection currents forming in the void and cutting down thermal losses leading to lower U-values. Further, the shape of these projections allows for concentration of incoming solar radiation. Connecting small sized solar cells along these projections simultaneously generates more electricity per unit solar cell area and provides privacy to the indoor environments. The front face of these projections can also be varied to incorporate better aesthetics within the product. Aimed at the commercial and public construction sectors our current product Solar Squared provides all the standard benefits of using glass blocks for building exteriors such as daylighting, protection, and structure but also generates electricity in the form of solar energy and offers enhanced thermal insulation. Predicted that the BIPV Market will grow from about $3 billion in 2015 to over $9 billion in 2019, and surge to $26 billion by 2022. We want to be a part of this exciting market opportunity and aim to capture at least 5 % of this market in the coming five years through our innovative solutions. Having solar energy collection integrated into the building envelope as part of the design replaces conventional building envelope materials with a smart and multifunctional technology that not only serves it original purpose but also has a financial payback through electricity generation and energy savings. The incorporation of the PV technology within the building structure prevents PV system theft which is increasingly problematic in both developed and developing countries. Onsite energy generation (OSG) will reduce energy losses associated with transmitting power from a far and reduce dependency on grid infrastructure. Coupled with the increasing availability of building scale battery storage technology, our technology has the potential to be an important part of the emerging distributed OSG clean energy system. As an organization we have applied a lean manufacturing strategy for the development of our product. We have tied up with existing glass block manufacturer to produce our innovative glass block henceforth avoiding any further emissions and environmental impacts by deploying a completely new production setup. We have also tied up with existing solar cell manufacturers to produce our unique solar cell technology. This way we have avoided almost 70% of carbon emissions that would happen if we were to completely manufacture our entire product. While the product has been in technological development for last one year, the commercial business is relatively young and still essentially a start-up so has no financials. Build Solar aims to develop several construction materials that integrate solar technology, partly mitigating the negative environmental effects of rising building energy consumption. Further, the company aims to develop a network of international partnerships construction companies that sell, distribute, and install construction materials. Personnel: Dr. Hasan Baig (Founder & CEO-Build Solar) leads new product and new market activities. He obtained his PhD (2015) in Renewable Energy from the University of Exeter, UK. For his research Hasan won the Impact Award in the Sustainable Futures category at the university of Exeter in 2013. Over the years Hasan has worked extensively on design and manufacture of several Building Integrated Solar Concentrator technologies. He presented the company profile at the Cleantech Innovate UK and the BRE BIPV stakeholders workshop this year. Hasan is managing the overall operations and networking with many stakeholders towards building the company's future directions. Prof. Tapas Mallick, Scientific Advisor and Chairman for the company is a World leader in BIPV technology. He is currently the Chair in Clean Technologies, Environment & Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, UK. He has brought in grant funding of more than 350,000 GBP in the research for Building Integrated solar technologies at the University of Exeter. Tapas is communicating the company profile through his own scientific networks and seeking opportunities to collaborate on a scientific scale through any potential grant funding opportunities. Jim Williams is a Non-Executive Director and commercialization manager at Build Solar. He has a background in product development, manufacturing, and retail of consumer outdoor goods. He is continuously in touch with the glass block industry partners and investors to bring in more interest towards the company. The company has developed strong links with national level business such as HS2 and Network Rail towards large scale deployment of the technology. The company has also successfully completed Innovate UK SBRI funding towards feasibility of the technology. The company is in discussion with external bodies for business plan development. 
Year Established 2017 
Impact 60% of global carbon emissions are caused by buildings. Our vision is to challenge this adversity through the concept of Net Zero Energy buildings, meaning the total amount of energy used on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site. BUILD SOLAR aims to commercialize innovative photovoltaic solutions by combining them with traditional construction materials and transforming buildings from energy consumers to power generators. Through a series of its products, the company is poised to become a major key player in the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) industry. The BIPV market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 16% between 2016 and 2024 and the global market is currently valued at $7 billion. To catch up with this growing industry and gather further momentum BUILD SOLAR is currently faced with several obstacles including lack of education about these technologies among architects, standard product specifications, building regulatory, manufacturing costs and lack of well-trained installers. Aimed at the commercial and public sectors, our first product Solar Squared provides standard benefits such as daylighting, protection, and structure alongside electricity generation and better thermal insulation. The company has established a route to market within the UK market through Glass Block Technology Limited, one of the major glass block sellers, distributors, and installers in Europe. The company will build a network of partnerships with similar glass block companies to access international markets in the future. We have already patented our technology through the following UK patent "Construction Block with Photovoltaic Device, PATENT APPLICATION NUMBER 1705840.5". Our technical impact has been very strong on the glass block industry wherein we have completely transformed a standard construction material into an innovative energy solution. Prototyping of our first product Solar Squared is in progress and we hope to complete it by August this year. Further new designs of the product are being developed for the next round of prototyping. Socially we have presented our product to the public, researchers and school children visiting the Environment & Sustainability Institute at the University of Exeter. We have also participated in the stakeholder workshop on BIPV technologies organized by BRE. Through this workshop we have introduced our product to existing BIPV manufacturers and gathered their feedback, understand the wider challenges BIPV industry faces and unlock routes for future developments. The Solar Squared unit will improve the performance of a widely used building material (glass block). The function of architectural glass blocks is to allow daylighting, and lower artificial lighting loads. Thus, Build Solar have reduced the active cell area of the PV, while still pulling back efficiency and yield by concentrating incoming light. The power density at standard tests conditions is analogous to approx. 25 Wp/m2. This compares well with amorphous silicon and organic photovoltaics which also have a similar power density. With the addition of the concentrators and solar cells in the block, internal convective air currents are reduced which in turn improves the thermal insulation performance of the block versus the standard hollow version. The traditional glass block has a U-Value =2.8 W/m2 K. Solar Squared Glass Block aims to reduce this by up to 50 %. The improvement of U-Value to 1.4 W/m2 K will result in thermal energy savings of 0.51 kWh/annum/block. This equates to Year 1 savings of 69,700 kWh, the equivalent of 6 houses' energy demand. By year 4 this is 4,056,114 kWh or 347 houses (based on U-Value improvement from 2.8 to 1.4 W/m2 K, Year 1-unit sales of 136,400 units, year 5 unit sales of 7,937,600 units and an average UK household energy usage of 11,700 kWH p.a.). The CO2e savings equate to 24t CO2e saved in Year 1 rising to 1,425t CO2e by Year 4 (based on UK grid CO2e grid electricity of 0.35156kg CO2e/kWH, BEIS Carbon Factors 2017). The price per tonne of carbon saved equates to ?73k in Year 1 falling to just ?11k per tonne by Year 4. Assuming full market adoption to 114m glass blocks this results in carbon savings of over 20,000t per annum. The concentration concept is not new and has been proven in other concentrating solar technologies. In the case of Solar Squared, the team at Exeter have chosen a relatively low power concentrator which magnifies by a factor 3 - 6. This allows the concentrating lens to have a wide angle of acceptance (ca. half acceptance angle 35°), meaning that contrary to typical high concentration application which need dual axis tracking, a vertically installed south facing Solar Squared array should be able to receive light for at least 7 hours a day. The Energy Payback Time of the system can be as low as 3yrs which is comparable to current rooftop PV technologies, something that current BIPV struggle to deliver. The Energy Return On Investment of Solar Squared is targeted to be less than 5 years with an estimated equivalent carbon footprint of 20g CO2e/kWh energy generated. Based on the BEIS toolkit for valuation of energy use the Year 4 energy savings have an NPV of?619,280 and an annualized NPV. BUILD SOLAR is a recent startup and an outcome of more than five years of Solar PV research at the University of Exeter. Since its launch at the Cleantech Innovate UK in April this year it has managed to raise a lot of interest from several construction companies and media. Some of the notable articles can be found below. Build Solar in the Press • Solar power glass bricks generate energy while letting in light, Reuteurs, November 28th, 2017 • Watts new in glass blocks, Royal Institute of British Architects September 8th2017 • Researchers develop solar glass blocks to power houses, PV Magazine August 24th2017 • Could This Glass Brick Be the Solution to Solar Energy's Design Problems?, Architectural Digest August 23rd2017 • Revolutionary glass building blocks generate their own solar energy, Inhabitat August17th2017 • University of Exeter creates energy generating glass bricks, BIM+Chartered Institute of Building August 23rd2017 • Solar blocks could replace solar panels on buildings, TreeHugger, August17th2017 • These solar glass bricks let in light while generating energy, Curbed August 23rd2017 • Is This Solar Power Tech the Future of Glass Blocks?, Architect-Journal of American Architects, August17th2017 • How to Leverage Glass Block Construction to Achieve LEED Certification, Architizer August 31st2017 • These solar glass blocks would make great skylights for your solar roofs, Techcrunch August18th2017
Website https://www.buildsolar.co.uk
 
Company Name Solar Concentrator Limited 
Description Establishment of the company is ongoing 
Year Established 2014 
Impact Its just been developing
 
Description Butterfly-inspired technique could make solar energy cheaper 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact News article published on Butterfly-inspired technique could make solar energy cheaper, our discovery initially published in our University of Exeter website, followed by more than 110 press article world wide
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/the-good-earth/Butterfly-inspired-technique-coul...
 
Description Conference organiser for 21st IEEE International Conference on Automation and Computing 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Conference chair, oversee and manage the organisation of the conference, micromachining exhibition
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://csee.essex.ac.uk/ICAC2015/
 
Description Conference organiser for the 20th IEEE International Conference on Automation and Computing 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Type Of Presentation paper presentation
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Programme Chair for this international conference, organising review, conference programme

Researchers from Liverpool, Nottingham Universities have expressed interests on further exploitation of the new air bearing and prepare for joint EPSRC grant application.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/mostRecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6924028
 
Description Environment and sustainability day 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact Over 100 students from all over cornwall, UK participated in the Environment and sustainability day at University of Exeter's Penryn campus, and we presented how solar cell works
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013,2014,2015
 
Description National women in engineering at Truro High School 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Schools
Results and Impact over 100 female students age range of 10-13 were attended for the national women in engineering day at Truro high school, and we presented novel way of making solar cell
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014,2015
 
Description News article in national newspaper 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact several press article published at december 2012 for UK-Indian project
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2012
 
Description News article on Butterfly research for concentrated photovoltaic system 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Media (as a channel to the public)
Results and Impact Since our publication on scientific report about the butterfly wings as solar concentrator, over 110 press articles published worldwide in 2015. also, several press article published in printed news media
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.simplescience.co.in/statesman/276.5thAug2015.ButterflyWingTweakSolarCell.pdf
 
Description Scientific committee member for Asian Society of Precision Engineering and Nanotechnology 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Setting themes of the conference, reviewing papers and scheduling conference programme. The two conferences each attracted more 300 delegates (including policy maker, industry, academia, postgraduates) delegates in the field of ultra precision manufacturing.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2011,2015
 
Description Session chair on EPSRC Manufacturing the future conference 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Chair session on EPSPC Manufacturing the future conference; to share information with other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://ukmanufacturing2015.eng.cam.ac.uk/
 
Description UK India Workshop on integrated renewable energy and hydrogen 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact We organised UK Indian workshop on integrated renewable energy and hydrogen generation where solar energy generation and utilisation and heat recovery through phase change material was discussed.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016
 
Description UK/India Energy Workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Industry/Business
Results and Impact I gave a talk on outcome of our RCUK/India project for a audience invited by FCO and British council. The outcome of this project had a major social impact in India via electrification of villages Using low carbon energy system.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2016