OPX Biotechnologies

Overview of the Nominee

OPXBIO is a Colorado-based company that focuses on “good chemistry” to create bio-based products that are high in value to customers. These bio-based products are created by combining science (biochemistry) and technology i.e. its own developed technology called EDGE^TM (Efficiency Directed Genome Engineering). OPXBIO was founded in 2007 and has since developed two high impact bio-based products; BioAcrylic, a renewable chemical product ready to replace the use of petro-acrylic in the manufacturing industry, and bio-processed diesel fuel developed to replace the conventional bio-diesel fuel.

Why/How is this innovative?

Unlike the conventional biofuel production, where heavy dependencies on land and commodity crops such as corn, sugarcane, and oil palm exist, OPXBIO’s bio-processed diesel fuel depends on the conversion of the renewable source of Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide directly into biodiesel. The production of biodiesel by bypassing photosynthesis is certainly innovative.

Who is the organization?

Headquartered in Boulder Colorado, OPX Biotechnologies, Inc. (OPXBIO), was founded in 2007 and is currently run by the Chief Executive Officer and President, Charles Eggert and the Chief Scientific Officer as well as the Co-Founder, Michael Lynch. Investors supporting the company include Mohr Davidow Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures, Altira Group and X/Seed Capital.

The company’s main focus is the development of bio-based products such manufacturing of renewable bio-based chemicals and fuels by utilising its proprietary technology called the Efficiency Directed Genome Engineering, better known as EDGE^TM.

Being driven by the objective to develop renewable bio-based products, the company, since its inception, has developed to key products, the first being the BioAcrylic. BioAcrylic is the first ever renewable chemical product that has the potential to replace our excessive dependency on petro-acrylic (which is hydrocarbon-based). The production cost of BioAcrylic is effectively 25 percent lower than production cost of petro-acrylic and the use of BioAcrylic is projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a massive 75 percent. The second, which appear to be the marquee product for the company is the sustainable biodiesel production, which does not require plant material or land size of the conventional biodiesel. The biological approach of efficiently extracting energy from Hydrogen and use it for converting Carbon Dioxide into liquid transportation fuel, the bio-based diesel. The production of this bio-based product is at a fraction of the cost of conventional biodiesel.

What is the core idea or technology?

The core idea of the innovative people at OPXBIO is to develop a sustainable fuel production, as to reduce our dependencies either on hydrocarbon, or the conventional biodiesel.

The idea revolves around the use of resources that are readily available to us, such as the renewable Hydrogen i.e. from water and the ever-present Carbon Dioxide.

This idea involves the conversion of Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide into a renewable form of biodiesel, with a safe and reusable by-product; water. The process utilises OPXBIO genomic technology; the Efficiency Directed Genome Engineering (EDGE^TM), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) micro-organisms for Hydrogen utilisation and carbon fixation. This allows for rapid metabolic engineering of the renewable biodiesel.

The bio-chemical production of the bio-based diesel will help remove our dependency on the conventional production of biodiesel as a source of “renewable” fuel where the need for plant materials and vast usage of land for harvesting these plants will be eliminated.

What makes it unique?

What makes the idea developed by OPXBIO unique is simply the fact that it redefines the meaning of “bio” in “bio-diesel”. While we are all familiar with the conventional form of biodiesel where it refers to a vegetable oil or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl, propyl, or ethyl) and is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as vegetable oil or animal fat with alcohol. The idea by OPXBIO on the other hand, utilising the expertise of biochemists, bio-chemically producing a similar form of biodiesel, but utilising renewable sources, without the need of vast amount of land for crops production and at a fraction of the cost.

Although the conventional biodiesel has always been categorised as a renewable form of fuel for energy production, it has always been criticised for its need of huge amount of crops in its production. In other words, juries are still out as far as biofuel being fully renewable.

With OPXBIO bio-chemically produced biodiesel, there is no doubt that it is a renewable form of fuel for energy production. Its use of Hydrogen; readily available in the form of water, and Carbon Dioxide; a form of gas that is ever-present in the atmosphere, makes this technology a sustainable form of fuel for energy production.

There is no such technology of its form at present.

Why is it important?

Two key factors make this product by OPXBIO very important.

Firstly, the idea of producing biodiesel by getting around photosynthesis itself makes it very important. What this simply means is that, this novel approach will avoid all the inefficiencies of using photosynthesis and will not require the accumulation of plant material, sugar production, vegetable oil or large amounts of land or water to collect energy from sunlight. The successful production of billion of gallons of this new form of biofuel production will eliminate the competition for land or commodity crops for food and animal feed that have been affecting the price of grains (and other related food products), particularly in the United States.

Secondly, the successful production of this new form of biodiesel will first and foremost, eliminate our dependency on hydrocarbon-based diesel, and secondly our need for the conventional form of biodiesel. The need for us to get away from the use of hydrocarbon-based diesel is well documented, while our ability to utilise the new bio-chemically developed biodiesel and move away from the conventional biodiesel will offer us the opportunity to exploit the resources (required in producing the conventional biodiesel) in various other beneficial ways e.g. feed the poor, better usage of land, etc.

How important do you think this idea is?

I personally think that the idea brought forward by OPXBIO is essential in shaping the future of the global energy mix. The advancement of technology brought by the idea of this new form of biodiesel will help promote our use of renewable energy sources, while eliminating the geographical barriers and the food supply and demand distortion that the conventional form of biodiesel might have caused.

From the technology point of view, OPXBIO’s Efficiency Directed Genome Engineering (EDGE^TM) technology has open new doors for the future of biochemistry. No longer will we have to rely on non-renewable sources or materials such as hydrocarbon and crops to create product such as the petro-acrylic and biodiesel for our use.

From the geo-economical perspective on the other hand, this new form of biodiesel brought forward by OPXBIO will impact positively on the food supply and demand aspect, as well as offers the opportunity for better land use, particularly in countries where the conventional biodiesel production is substantial such as in Brazil or the United States. The use of crops as the source of fuel production can be slowly phased out, hence nullifying the unhealthy demand for crops, which have caused the increase in food price over the years. Food customers would no longer have to compete with biodiesel producers for the same crops. The degradation of land quality as a result of land use for biodiesel crops is well documented. These lands were poorly cultivated and are usually used with short term plan to produce crops enough to produce biodiesel. Hence, a vast unproductive and poorly cultivated land have been left behind, which can no longer be used for agriculture. With a move towards the new form of biodiesel (without the dependency on crops), the need for land-clearing will be reduced and land can be effectively and efficiently used for agriculture.

Last but not least, from the commercial perspective, the low cost of producing this new form of biodiesel is essential. Like most new form of renewable source of energy, the biggest stumbling block has always been the high production cost. OPXBIO technology allows for these biodiesel be produced at much cheaper than the production cost of the conventional biodiesel, which puts it in a positive commercial position and makes it an interesting investment opportunity, which also means that it carries better potential to succeed.

Solar Powered Autoclave

Overview of the Nominee

Began in 2008, the development of the Solarclave was initiated by a group of students at the University of Dayton. Currently part of the research and development at the International Laboratory of Innovation and International Health (IIH), the development of the Solarclave technology is being led the Research and Development Officer, Anna Young.

The Solarclave uses a parabolic solar concentrator as a small boiler to collect solar energy to generate steam that is transferred to an insulated pressure vessel and an electronic sterilisation indicator.

Why/How is this innovative?

While the existing autoclaves can be either too complex or too costly, the Solarclave is neither.

Its utilisation of renewable energy in the form of solar energy helps reduce the running cost of the equipment. The simple engineering and design of the technology, in addition to reducing its development cost, also offers an easier option to disseminate the technology to a more remote and poorer areas where surgical care are very scarce.

Who is the organization?

Development of the Solarclave began in 2008 when a group of students entered a business plan competition at the University of Dayton, winning a $10,000 prize for their proposal to develop solar-powered sterilizers. Since winning the competition, the students went through a number of designs, before finally settling on the current model.

Anna Young, who leads the development of the technology, is the Research and Development Officer for the International Laboratories of Innovations in International Health (IIH) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is responsible for the human factors design of the technology. She is vastly experienced in technology development from technology need identification, to research and development, to field-testing and user testing and ultimately to implementation stage. She has managed the MEDIKit project at IIH and her solar-powered autoclave research was recently recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the top six innovative technologies in health. She is also the co-founder of a social enterprise focusing on development of solar technologies for health called Salud del Sol, Inc.

Anna is ably assisted by V. Ted Liao and Charles Hsu. Ted is the lead researcher of the Solarclave project at IIH. With expertise in thermodynamics and a background in Electrical Engineering, coupled with experience in systems engineering and presently, a medical student at the Boston University School of Medicine, Ted is well suited to lead the system design of the solar-powered autoclave. Charles meanwhile is currently an undergraduate student at MIT studying biology. He is a keen apprentice to Dr. Utkan Demirci Bio-Acoustic Mems in Medicine Laboratories with passion to developing technologies that promotes better health in rural communities.

What is the core idea or technology?

Known as Solarclave, this new method for medical instrument sterilisation using solar energy instead of conventional fuels allow for the safe and reliable stream sterilisation of surgical instruments in clinics without electricity, mainly those found in poorer countries and some developing countries.

An autoclave is defined as a vessel capable of holding high-pressure steam at 15psi and insulation to maintain the internal temperature at 121 degree Celsius. The solar autoclave uses a parabolic solar concentrator and a small boiler to collect solar energy to generate steam that is transferred to an insulated pressure vessel and an electronic sterilisation indicator.

An experiment to proof the concept was done to ensure that the 250 millilitre boiler and parabolic concentrator generated the appropriate amount of steam for a 5 litre insulated pressure vessel. Early testings have shown that the system needs two concentrators for such amount of steam. The sterilisation indicator on the pressure vessel measures the temperature and activates an LED when the appropriate measures for sterilisation are reached.

What makes it unique?

As it is, there are many different types of sterilants available in the market. However, there is none that operates at a low cost as the solar-powered autoclave and none that operates sustainably by utilising the solar energy. In addition to cost factor, the solar-powered autoclave is also more efficient than other similarly low cost types of sterilants.

Boiling water to clean instruments for example, although may be cheap, it is not endorsed by the WHO as a reliable method of sterilisation as it does not kill 100% of the microbes present on surgical devices.

Another option would be the use of chemical sterilants. This procedure is rather too complex, which more often than not offers higher probability of improperly sterilised equipments. Not to mention the higher cost that would be incurred.

The use of high-powered electric autoclaves (which are usually only available at central hospitals) or tabletop autoclaves can be highly effective, although they are frequently financially prohibitive. The cost of transporting surgical equipments from the central hospitals to the remotely located clinics can be either very costly or in some case, geographically unfeasible. Tabletop autoclaves are simply too costly to obtain, in addition to its high operating cost i.e. substantial use of electricity power.

This what makes the solar-powered autoclave unique. The sterilisation cycle for the solar-powered autoclave is the same as a tabletop autoclave, but is powered using renewable energy, the Sun; a free and abundant resource.

Why is it important?

The importance of the solar-powered autoclave is driven by the need for surgical care in less developed countries, in particular poorer countries such as countries in Africa, countries in South America, and countries in certain parts of Eastern Europe and Asia.

As the global population grows, so does the world’s burden of surgical diseases. This is more so as the gap between access to life saving surgical procedures and the limitations preventing the surgical care, particularly financial limitations, widens. At present, less than 5% of the world’s surgical procedures are performed in countries ranked in the lowest third of per capita health expenditure. Barriers to the delivery of safe and timely surgery include lacking in capacity and quality, which basically stems from financial inadequacies.

Surgery is often the only solution to prevent disabilities and death from conditions resulting from road traffic accidents, falls, burns, disasters, domestic violence, pregnancy related complications, infections and congenital defects. Pregnancy complications and other surgical diseases such as malignancies, prenatal conditions and other injuries, account for 11% of the global diseases burden.

The surgical care gap between developing and developed countries could be substantially reduced through integrated strategies including appropriate medical equipment design for surgical procedures in low-infrastructure areas or countries.

The WHO states that most of the surgical care required to reduce the global disease burden can be given at the primary level of health care, which for most of the world, is provided by rural clinics. Rural clinics in the poor countries provide primary care for 3 billion people worldwide, but more than half of them do not have access to electricity. Additionally, although they lack the proper equipment, nurses at these clinics are faced with the decision to compromise patient safety by attempting to provide care. When minor wound injuries are left untreated or are inappropriately treated by the primary care clinics, infections can rapidly spread. Every year there are 50 to 60 million people in the poor countries suffering from wound injuries. Even in areas where surgeries are already performed, one fifth of the patients suffer from post-operation infection, due to, among other causes, the use of improperly sterilised equipment used in the surgical procedure. This situation alone stresses the importance of the innovation of this solar-powered autoclave.

How important do you think this idea is?

I strongly believe that this idea of solar-powered autoclave i.e. Solarclave is an immensely important idea; technologically and socio-economically.

Technologically, engineering and design of the Solarclave takes into account the use of renewable energy source and at the same time, the design also allows for future development to the use of the technology. For example, the decoupled solar concentrator and the pressure vessel is done to reduce the volatility of solar collection, not to mention the possibility of scaling the system size with additional solar concentrator, should the need arise. The design of the technology also allows for easy manufacturing and flat pack shipping easing the dissemination of the technology globally.

From the socio-economic perspective, I believe the idea of Solarclave will help save lives, in thousands, if not in the millions, globally. In the less developed countries and poor countries where adequate surgical care is scarce, WHO estimates that 500,000 women die annually from complications in pregnancy that can be easily solved with simple surgical intervention at the primary health clinic point of care; which in these countries are almost absent. That is only looking at pregnancy complications without considering other surgical diseases such as malignancies, prenatal conditions, injuries, and others.

This technology will offer opportunities for the primary health clinic to have access to the technology due to its low acquisition and running cost.

Proper medical attention is the right, and not privilege, for each of the global citizen, and the Solarclave provides a step towards realising this right.

Liquid Metal Battery

Overview of the Nominee

Liquid Metal Battery, a spin out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a brainchild company of Professor Donald Sadoway. Together with Luiz Ortiz, who is also the President of Liquid Metal Battery, Professor Sadoway founded the company; obtaining the idea for the technology from his experience in making metals at an industrial scale and by looking at how an aluminium smelter functions. The company has since been looking at developing batteries that are scalable to the point where it could store power from wind and solar for several hours, in addition to being low in cost. 

Why/How is this innovative?

As compared to lead acid, lithium iron, and other conventional batteries where the cathode and anode are solid, all active materials of the Liquid Metal Battery are liquid. They are maintained in liquid form at high temperatures. The liquid form avoids the electrodes from degradation. It also promotes high flow of current which makes it bulk storage to be practical enough to be used on grid. In addition to that, the liquid form also means the battery can be built using cheaper components; as compared to the conventional batteries.

Who is the organization?

Liquid Metal Battery is a brainchild company of Professor Donald Sadoway of MIT. The project, as the name of the company suggests, focuses on the development of batteries in liquid form. Having received the Advanced Research Projects Agency grant for the energy sector (ARPA-E) from the United States Department of Energy in the amount of $6.9 million in 2009, the company has been able to progress its research and development as well as expanding its operations through hiring of more chemists, be it students or post-doctorates. In addition to that, Liquid Metal Battery also received a funding of $4 million from the oil giant Total.

Together with his co-founder, Luiz Ortiz and his team of chemists, Professor Sadoway has been able to advance the development of the liquid battery from the size of a shot glass to currently the size of a ping-pong table. The goal of the project is to develop a big enough battery that could store electric generated from renewable source such as wind and solar; to be used at times when there is no wind or sunlight, at the same time being able to produce the battery at a fraction of the cost of producing batteries at present.

At the current stage of the development, the company target consumers would be the single-family homes. Although the target is to be able to develop batteries that are big enough to supply electricity to the grid, Professor Sadoway believes that a battery that could support the need for single-family homes would be the most practical scalable size; considering the stage of their research and development.

What is the core idea or technology?

Although the idea or concept of the liquid metal battery may seem rather simplistic or typical of conventional batteries, the overall aim of the development of the liquid metal battery is so much more complex.

The core idea of the technology developed by the Liquid Metal Battery is to develop battery big enough that it could be used to store a significant amount of electricity for a much longer period than conventional batteries could. It is hoped that such battery could store electricity generated from the wind and solar and redistribute the electricity back onto the grid when demand for electricity exists; at the time when there is no wind or sunlight.

Like most technologies, the major stumbling block to commercialisation of the technology is the cost. Battery technology has always been very expensive. To build batteries big enough to store electricity generated from renewable energy technologies; in terms of physical size and storage capacity, its commercialisation would be almost impossible as producing such batteries would be ridiculously costly. Liquid Metal Battery is trying to overcome the issue of cost and storage capacity by developing batteries in liquid form. Liquid metal batteries would have less degradation effect as compared to conventional solid batteries. It uses cheaper compounds and it lasts longer, which means it can be easily scalable to achieve the storage capacity at a fraction of the cost of conventional batteries.

One of the key challenges faced by the Liquid Metal Battery is to scale up the technology to the required size, while at the same time getting the chemical composition right, keeping the cost low, and containing the high temperature of the battery. The battery needs to operate at a very high temperature to ensure it remains in liquid form.

A scalable, with high storage capacity liquid metal battery would be able to address the intermittent problem of the renewable energy technologies.

What makes it unique?

While the concept of liquid metal battery remains similar to the conventional batteries i.e. the use of anodes and cathodes and the movement of electrons between them, the idea of having the anodes and cathodes in liquid form is rather unique.

Having the battery in liquid form would avoid rapid degradation of the components, as with the batteries in solid form. Hence, it invites lower maintenance costs. Liquid metal electrodes are also more stable.

Furthermore, liquid metal electrodes are produced using cheaper materials as compared to solid electrodes. In liquid form, the batteries can be easily scalable. Coupled with the cheaper material used in its production, liquid metal battery can be scalable at an acceptably low cost for the purpose of grid storage and renewable energy technology storage.

Why is it important?

The technology being developed by the Liquid Metal Battery is important for many reasons. Firstly, it will allow for grid-level energy storage i.e. for single-family home. A small-sized liquid metal battery can be stored inside a house where it can acquire and store energy or electric from the grid during off peak and use it throughout the day or export it back to the grid during peak demand period. Bigger sized liquid metal batteries can be installed at power plants which would eliminate the need for bigger or new power plants.

Secondly, the technology is important in resolving the issue of intermittency of the wind and solar energy. Combined with the used of high capacity liquid metal batteries, solar and wind energy can finally be part of the base load for electricity generation to meet its ever increasing demand.

Finally, but most significantly, the liquid metal battery offers a workable technology that is a fraction of the cost of the existing technology. This increases the likelihood of commercialisation of the technology into the energy market.

How important do you think this idea is?

Personally, I think the Liquid Metal Battery technology plays an essential part in meeting the global energy demand and to a certain extent, addressing our energy security issues. I belief the importance of this technology is two-pronged, albeit they are closely interrelated.

The key importance of this technology is the fact that it addresses the issue of high cost in the area energy generation. We have since enough evidence over the decades as to how great ideas and technologies failed to reach their full potential and to reach the commercial market. Most often than not the reasons associated to these letdowns have been the failure to develop the technology at a bigger scale due to excessive investment i.e. cost required. Hydrogen fuel cells or hydrogen combustible technologies are examples of these failures, just to name a few. Based on current stage of development, producing the liquid metal batteries is a fraction of the cost of producing conventional batteries. This will allow the technology to be scaled up to grid level which would potentially make it an economical investment, particularly for private investors such as electricity or energy companies.

Being scalable increases the energy storage capacity of the technology. This would then allow the liquid metal battery to be used as storage for the renewable energy technologies such as wind and solar power, which struggle with intermittency issues. Using the similar rationale of a pump-storage hydroelectric, the liquid metal battery can store unused energy generated by wind turbines or solar panels during low demand period, while releasing the energy back into the grid at the time when demand for energy is higher. This would help solve that intermittency problems of these renewable energy technologies and turn these technologies into a more attractive investments. Indirectly, the liquid metal battery can enhance the development of the renewable energy technologies.

Preon Bioelectric

Overview of the Nominee

Preon Bioelectric is a three-party join-venture between Preon Power, International Business Energy Council (IBEC) and CBRE | The Furman Co. Based at the Clemson University in South Carolina and is part of the South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies (SCIES), these three parties have come together to develop and promote a more comprehensive landfill gas-to-electric (LGTE) technology; an existing technology, utilising the waste-to-energy model. 

Why/How is this innovative?

While LGTE technology has existed for quite sometime, Preon Bioelectric technology allows the flexibility in the application of the technology. Something that a typical LGTE technology does not offer. Its microturbine allows it to develop a LGTE project as small as 50 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm), when a typical internal combustion turbines would require between 300 to 1100 scfm to operate.

Who is the organization?

Part of the SCIES, based at the Clemson University in South Carolina, Preon Bioelectric is a joint-venture between the Preon Power, the IBEC and the CBRE | The Furman Co. James Bishop, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the co-founder of the joint-venture, who also founded the IBEC five years ago set out an aim of profitably producing electricity from methane and turning this major greenhouse pollutant into green energy. This vision of his brought about the inception of Preon Bioelectric and the development of a technology that is capable of “squeezing” electricity out of marginal methane sources that are usually commercially discarded.

Preon Bioelectric is heavily involved in the exploitation of advanced energy technologies, albeit the technologies have existed for numerous years. The combination of the biomass-to-electric (BMTE) concept with the LGTE technology and the combination of the combined heat and power (CHP) concept with the organic rankin cycle (ORC) technology are the two key examples of the utilisation of various advanced energy technologies to generate green energy.

Preon Bioelectric targets landfill owners, be it government-owned landfills that are risk-adverse or landfill owners that are looking to maximise their revenue and profits.

What is the core idea or technology?

The development of technology of converting flare gas to electricity, similarly the LGTE technology, has been established for as far as three decades. However, this conventional technology, which involves the engineering of gas conditioning skid, combustion engine-generator, and a connector to the electric grid, does not allow for or utilizes gas flow that is lower than 300 to 400 scfm. In this conventional technology, if the gas flow goes below the said rate, flaring begins as combustion engine does not operate at this low rate. Peron Bioelectric technology, on the other hand, is able to exploit and operate within this low gas rate “niche market” and generate electricity to be exported to the electricity grid.

Additionally, Preon Bioelectric technology also looks at developing a much larger project than the current flare may signify. For example, a 10MW BMTE project with a merely 2MW flare project could be made so much more profitable by utilizing the biomass that would otherwise be discarded to landfills. Algae bio-reactor is used in the recycling process of recyclables. This helps the BMTE plant to boost its revenue while extending the life of the landfill and reducing emission and carbon footprint.

Another advantage of the Preon Bioelectric idea is the phased-approach to landfill development. The three-phase approach consists of converting the flare to electricity (regardless of the flow rate), adapting a materials recovery facility on-site and the BMTE plant, and in the final phase, installing the algae bio-reactor as means of converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. The phased-approach to landfill development helps convert flared gas into an income stream, increase the landfill electricity production capacity by a factor of 3-4, and turning a carbon neutral facility into a carbon negative facility.

What makes it unique?

There are two key areas that make the Preon Bioelectric unique and sets it apart from other electricity generating technologies.

Firstly, the Preon Bioelectric technology and idea are able to utilise and commercialise “waste” gas, when other conventional LGTE technologies are only able to exploit and benefit from gas at high flow rate, while flaring or wasting these “marginal” gas. The use of a technologically advanced designed microturbine for this purpose is something that has never existed in LGTE. Meanwhile, the use of the algae bio-reactor in its overall technical design that enhances the life of the landfill while reducing emission is new and original.

Secondly, the Preon Bioelectric idea can be easily extended to other facility other than landfills while applying the waste-to-energy development concept. Places such as cattle farms or large swine operations could benefit from Preon Bioelectric technology. Biogas facility is another system that could benefit from the Preon Bioelectric technology.

Why is it important?

There are many positives of the Preon Bioelectric technology that, when put together, make Preon Bioelectric very important. Consider the stricter emission standards employed in many areas around the globe. The internal combustion engine technology by Preon Bioelectric does not only offer a much lower carbon dioxide emission compared to other conventional internal combustion technologies, but also offers itself as a cheaper solution to landfill owners. This is important for two reasons; the ability for the landfill owners to operate in emission rigid areas without having to incur extra cost i.e. carbon tax, emission penalty, etc. and at the same time making the most of the low flow rate gas to generate extra profit.

Another key factor that makes Preon Bioelectric technology important is its capability and applicability to be extended to other facilities, other than landfill, while applying the waste-to-energy concept. Its capability to operate economically while exploiting the “marginal” gas from landfills and farms makes it an important and sensible option and solution to energy generation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission issues.

Last but not least is the fact the technology runs on an already tested and proven conventional technology, hence removing a significant amount of uncertainties and risk factors that may be common to newly introduced technologies.

How important do you think this idea is?

From my knowledge and experience, having been in the energy sector myself, the idea brought forward by Preon Bioelectric is not only important, but essential to the future of the global population. Granted landfill gas was never put in the same group as the renewable energy sources, but as part of the waste-to-energy application, this technology, from my point of view, is very sustainable and will remain so for a very long time in the future.

In the present world where “economics” or the commerciability of a technology, be it renewable or otherwise, is the key factor in its successful roleout, Preon Bioelectric fits right in. When a lot of geothermal wells, oil and gas wells, and even wind farms are abandoned or shutdown due to low heat rate, low oil and gas flow rate, and low wind speed, Preon Bioelectric steps in to utilise and exploit such “marginal” fuel and turn it into electricity and profit. Specifically in the case of landfills, Preon Bioelectric technology not only sequester the release of methane to the atmosphere, but helps landfill owners to generate income by exploiting this flared gas into electricity generation.

Also, in my view, what makes an energy generation technology important is its ability to be replicated globally, across different geographical settings and across different standards of living. To me, Preon Bioelectric has this to offer. The simplicity and applicability of the technology allows it to potentially be developed in different parts of the world such as in Brazil where cattle farms and sugarcane fields (biofuel) are abundant; similarly in the United States, Thailand and even Australia.

Even if the Preon Bioelectric technology is not extended beyond landfills, there are enough landfills in the world that could benefit from the technology. The fact that gas from landfills are generated through the degradation of municipal solid waste and not affected by the geographical nature or the subsurface outline of a specific area, makes it applicable globally, thus has a very important role to play in the global future energy mix.

Magenn Air Rotor System

Overview of the Nominee

Magenn Power is a research and development company specializing in advance materials and structure. The company focuses on airship technology development and since patenting the Magnus Airship in the 1980s, the company has gone to develop several more new airship technologies; the latest being the Magenn Air Rotor Systems (MARS). 

Why/How is this innovative?

Unlike the conventional wind turbines, MARS is actually a high altitude wind turbine that utilises the more constant high altitude wind to generate power. The use of light material and floating the rotor using helium allows MARS to be installed almost anywhere and not restricted to just windy areas alone.

Who is the organization?

Based at NASA Ames Research Center in California, Magenn Power is a research and development company specializing in advanced materials and structure. The company began in 1978 when its founder, Fred Ferguson designed a large spherical envelope filled with helium called the Magnus Spherical Airship. The company focuses on airship technology development. Since patenting the Magnus Airship in the 1980s, the company has gone to develop several more new airship technologies, the latest being the Magenn Air Rotor Systems (MARS). Fred Ferguson proceeded to form Av-Intel Inc. in the early 1990s to further the research in airship technologies. The difference between MARS and other Magenn Power technologies is the fact that MARS is a combination of an airship technology and wind turbine technology.

The company’s target consumers vary from mini-grid or off-grid population centers where electricity infrastructure is remote or detached, to military payload applications, to places in need of prompt deployment of power, such as disaster-hit areas e.g. earthquake, tsunami, etc.

What is the core idea or technology?

The MARS carries the concept of “wind power anywhere”. It is a high altitude wind turbine. The core idea of MARS is to take advantage of the constant wind at higher altitude to generate power, leveraging the same kinetic-to-mechanical-to-electricity energy conversion used in conventional wind turbines. MARS is a super light “wind turbine” that rotates along the horizontal axis to the high altitude wind, turning the rotor, thus generating electricity. The electricity generated from the mechanical rotation of the rotor is then transferred down from the rotor via a tether to a winch placed on the ground which is connected to a transformer. The electricity is then converted and transmitted via a substation control house for immediate consumption, to be stored in a set of batteries, or to be transferred to the nearby power grid.

Helium, a gas that is lighter than air, is used to maintain the MARS floating in the air. The combination of helium and the super light material used in manufacturing MARS make manouvering the air rotor simple. It can be easily attuned to the most suitable altitude to achieve the best wind speed. In addition to providing added lift, the use of helium also keeps the device stabilized, helps keep it in position within the desired location and causes it to pull up overhead instead of drifting downwind on its tether.

To allow it to operate at higher altitude, unlike the conventional wind turbines where the blades are two-dimensional, MARS is a closed three-dimensional structure in the shape of a cylinder. The contained rotor concept allows the turbine to operate at higher torque and a low starting speed which helps avoid initial power surge. The fact that it is light and operates at a higher altitude where more constant wind exists makes MARS more efficient as compared to other conventional wind turbines.

What makes it unique?

There are many reasons that make MARS unique as compared to the existing conventional wind turbines. For starters, MARS operates at a much higher altitude than the conventional wind turbines. This causes it to produce less noise; at least the sound produced from the turning rotor is so far high up that it can hardly be heard from the ground. Operating at higher altitude also allows MARS to be operated almost anywhere and not only limited to coastlines. As compared to typical wind turbines where the load factor is low and hovers around between 20% and 30%, MARS’ ability to harness the constant wind from high altitude guarantees a higher load factor and makes it a more attractive option. The prospect of MARS being effectively installed almost anywhere presents MARS with the opportunity to be installed near power grids or at remote locations where power grids may be nonexistent. This is something that the conventional wind turbines may not be able to offer.

Another aspect of MARS that makes it unique is the fact that its installation need not be permanent. Installation of MARS can be quite mobile as compared to the conventional wind turbines. Its simple installation requirements, and MARS itself being very light, makes it very mobile. This is as opposed to other renewable energy technologies that are immobile such as hydropower plants, the conventional wind turbines, geothermal wells, and to a certain extent, solar panels.

Why is it important?

The entire world’s reliance on the ever-depleting hydrocarbon resources brings about the need for technologies to harness renewable energy sources. While these technologies have existed, it does not at this moment in time offer the commercial value that will draw enough investors to invest in generation of power from renewable energy sources. MARS offers investors a sensible option.

In countries such as India, China, Russia and most of the African countries, MARS would not only be important, but fundamental if these counties are to continue to grow while at the same time meeting their energy demands. Most African countries would find it almost impossible to provide reliable power to their population; due to cost and geographical reasons. Same thing could be said of India and China. The relatively cheaper installation cost, its mobility, and its less restrictive installation locations makes MARS an essential option for the global population to address the issue of depleting supply of hydrocarbon at the same time addressing the energy demand concerns.

How important do you think this idea is?

I personally think that the Magenn Air Rotor System is very important; not only from the technology advancements perspective, but also from the security of energy supply and energy demand perspectives.

From the technology viewpoint, MARS represents a breakthrough in terms of the method of harnessing natural energy resources; in this case, wind energy. It offers the public an option to what is fast becoming the one and only method of harnessing wind energy: the conventional wind turbines. Its concept and technological approach seem to have overcome some, if not most, of the key barriers that have impeded the technological progress of wind energy technologies. MARS is important in that it overcomes the geographical limitations that have saddled the deployment of the conventional wind turbines. The conventional wind turbines have never been able to reach the key populations, either due to geographical reasons or the costs that surround them. MARS offers a solution to this. Just like the conventional wind turbines, MARS has its proponents, but at a minimum, it gives the public an outlet or an option for ways to harness wind energy to fulfill their energy needs.

Most importantly, however, is the impact that the MARS technology would bring to providing energy security of supply to the world population and meeting global energy demand. With growing global population, increase in energy demand is inevitable. Despite the existence of renewable energy sources, these sources are geographically restricted. MARS reduces the impact of geographical limitations; higher altitude usually offers stronger and more constant wind regardless of geographical location. Financial requirements aside, MARS allows for greater deployment prospects, hence greater access to energy for global population.