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Transforming flaring gas to clean hydrogen

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By Michael Stusch, CEO, H2 Industries

Gas flaring is now recognized as a major contributor to the emission of harmful gases affecting climate change and society by creating increased incidences of cancer in communities close to flaring sites. Sadly, flaring has been around for more than 150 years since the advent of oil and gas production, occurring when crude oil is extracted underground and natural gas is brought to the surface.

Particularly prevalent in areas with limited infrastructure, this gas is burned off seemingly without regulation. In fact, some 144 billion cubic meters of gas is flared each year, enough to power the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

The pollutants emitted are highly harmful to humans, according to a recent report by the BBC, and to the environment. Flaring emits black carbon, methane, and volatile organic compounds that pollute the air and have been linked not just to cancer, but deformities in children, lung damage, and skin problems. It contributes to over seven million deaths a year from air pollution. In addition, it is estimated that black carbon is second only to carbon dioxide in terms of its impact on global warming.

This is because it absorbs sunlight, warming the atmosphere, landing on ice and snow, and reducing its ability to reflect light. So, the big question is, what can be done? Fortunately, a solution is on the near horizon.

Overcoming energy waste

According to the World Bank, flaring is a monumental waste of a valuable natural resource that should be used for productive purposes, such as generating power, and that is what technology from H2-Industries, a global energy storage solutions company, can achieve. The company has developed a solution to convert these environmentally harmful flaring gases right at the flare of an oil production field to clean hydrogen and solid carbon. 

H2-Industries use pyrolysis technology to convert this environmentally harmful waste product into clean hydrogen. The hydrogen production process from flaring gas is CO2-emission free. Pyrolysis is when a solid (or a liquid) undergoes thermal degradation into smaller volatile molecules without interacting with oxygen or other oxidants. It is essential to understand that pyrolysis is not a phase change but a chemical process. It is a thermal degradation process that occurs under heat and degrades larger molecules into smaller ones.

The technology will be delivered in self-contained 20 or 40-foot ISO containers and can be pre-assembled in a semi-serial production and shipped for installation to the flaring site. The process provides clean hydrogen bound in liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC). LOHC are organic compounds that can absorb and release hydrogen through chemical reactions. LOHCs can therefore be used as a storage medium for hydrogen. H2-Industries has developed and commercialized the use of LOHC to make hydrogen handling safer and cheaper. With LOHC, the volatile hydrogen gas no longer needs to be cooled or compressed in a costly and energy-intensive manner to enable economical transport.

Any process is only as economic and ecological as its primary feedstock, and in the case of H2-Industries, the critical feedstock is a waste product. One crucial requirement for the process is electricity supplied by internal power generation units that do not use fossil fuel energy sources or the grid. CO2-free electricity can be provided either by hydrogen fuel cells that transform the hydrogen produced on-site into electrical power or Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) units that recover heat from the hydrogen storage in LOHC units and wasted heat from the water gas shift process to produce power for the entire process.

The process can produce up to 100 kg of clean hydrogen and 730 kg of solid carbon from a tonne of flaring gas. A typical, medium-sized oil platform releases 13,500 tonnes of flaring gas annually, and a single H2-Industries ‘Flare to Hydrogen’ container can produce 158 tons of clean hydrogen per year. By processing 100 million tons of flaring gas per year, the amount flared in 2021, ten million tonnes of clean hydrogen can be produced. The clean hydrogen for between $2 and $3 per kg, while market price levels are between $3 and $4 for grey hydrogen and $7 for CO2-emission-free hydrogen.

Clean carbon black

The only by-product of the process is solid carbon black that can be shipped for export to any place in the world using ISO container tanks. Carbon black is mainly used to strengthen rubber in tires. But it can also act as a pigment, UV stabilizer, conductive or insulating agent in various rubber, plastic, coating applications, and other everyday use, including hoses, conveyor belts, shoes, and printing.

Carbon black is usually produced in a high-temperature reactor through a tightly controlled flame-synthesis process that uses oil, and sometimes natural gas, as feedstock. As a result, the production of carbon black, as well as the production of its feedstock, contributes significantly to global warming and environmental pollution.

The H2-Industries process captures clean carbon black, not produced from fossil fuels, but from harmful production emissions with no additional CO2 emissions. This carbon black can be sold on the world market, where the current prices are between $1.5 and $2.5 per kg.

The hydrogenation process

It is crucial that any process can cope with the varying make-up of feedstock. Flare gas composition differs from flare to flare; therefore, the pure methane (CH4) needs to be separated with membranes that remove the various blends of carbon hydrates so that only pure CH4 remains. This CH4 is then cracked in a methane pyrolysis process into clean hydrogen and solid carbon with no CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere.

With pressures between 30 – 50 bar and catalysts specially developed for this application, the LOHC can be hydrogenated; hydrogen can be chemically bound. The resulting hydrogenated LOHC+ can be handled using the known gasoline and diesel fuel infrastructure. The hydrogenation process is exothermic. The waste heat developed in this way can be used in other processes, thus increasing the overall system efficiency. To dehydrate the LOHC+ to release the hydrogen from the liquid again, the LOHC+ passes through a dehydrogenation reactor, which contains the catalyst required for this process.

In contrast to hydrogenation, dehydrogenation is an endothermic reaction. Therefore, the necessary energy must be added and can, for example, be made available within the system by using the clean hydrogen itself or provided by other external heat sources. The dehydrogenated LOHC- can now be returned to the location of the hydrogenation and ‘reloaded’ with hydrogen. The cycle is closed. The LOHC itself is not consumed but reused many times over. The service life is also increased by the possibility of purification as soon as this becomes necessary after various cycles.

According to the World Bank 2022 Global Gas Flaring Tracker, reductions in absolute flare volumes and flaring intensity have stalled in the last decade, despite early solid progress. Impressive reductions in some countries have not offset concerning increases in others. The top ten flaring countries accounted for 75 percent of all gas flaring and 50 percent of global oil production in 2021. Seven of the top ten flaring countries have held this position consistently for the last ten years: Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Venezuela, Algeria, and Nigeria. The remaining three, Mexico, Libya, and China, have shown significant flaring increases in recent years.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the time is ripe for tapping into hydrogen’s much-vaunted potential contribution to a sustainable energy system. Hydrogen can be used in many more applications than those common today. Although this still accounts for a small share of total hydrogen demand, recent progress in expanding its reach has been strong, particularly in transport. It can also be used in houses, portable power, and many more applications. By utilizing LOHC technology from H2-Industries, harmful emissions from gas flaring can be avoided and turned into valuable and much-needed green hydrogen to increase the pace of the energy transition.

Can we get to Net Zero by 2030?

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By Steve Lorimer, Group Technical Director at Keysource

In 2021, 25 operators and 17 associations in the data centre industry pledged to be net zero by 2030, when they signed up to The European Data center Association’s Climate Neutral Data center Pact (CNDCP).

They committed to three-quarters of the energy used by their data centre facilities to be renewable or carbon-free by 2025, and completely carbon-free by 2030.  The dichotomy however is that demand for computing power and digital services is growing fast. In the last decade, global internet traffic increased ten-fold and data centre energy use is likely to increase accordingly by 2030.  As a result, there is much talk within the market about sustainable solutions, and innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions.

Let’s take a step back and look at what sustainability means for a data centre and what does the next generation data centre need to have for sustainability to be at its core…

Building efficiency

Historically a lot of decisions and considerations around data centre facilities have related to commercial incentives and lower operating costs. It’s only more recently that the focus has shifted to how sustainable the building, its infrastructure and the operation of the facility is and there is now some excellent work being done. However, in my view, it’s going to require an even bigger step forward to hit the net zero target.

Performance related M&E Infrastructure improvements will continue to be relevant but ultimately these will be further enabled and driven by the performance and technologies implemented at the IT layer – after all the ability to deliver the workload in the most sustainable manner is the ultimate goal.

This can only be done by ensuring that resource utilisation measurements are aligned against the relevant IT performance statistics to drive a relevant KPI/metric for the given organisations use case. Historically the focus has been on carbon reduction achieved both through energy optimisation, and plant upgrade including implementation of newer technologies. As our energy sources decarbonise, considering whole life carbon of the services will become more critical, as embodied carbon becomes a more dominant factor.

This is somewhat at odds with the cyclical nature of both IT lifespan and the supporting M&E infrastructure so ensuring that facilities are designed and implemented with this in mind is critical. Using existing best practice considerations including right sizing, modular implementation and appropriate implementation of resilience will continue to form the bedrock; reducing embodied carbon whilst optimising performance. However, having the ability to accommodate new and future IT technology requirements (such as direct liquid cooling), without wholesale plant replacement, and whilst still maximising energy performance, will be critical to keeping equipment relevant and therefore maximising lifespan.

Reap the benefits

Professional data centre operators will be challenged from numerous angles moving forward to demonstrate their carbon reduction credentials. That will include: planning and permitting new facilities or upgrades; meeting reporting and disclosures which will now in some case be under a legal mandate to provide; or just addressing internal operational improvement obligations. Increasingly operators will need to regularly reciprocate more data with their clients to meet each of their own obligations. From raw materials to water and energy use, the whole supply chain across the facility lifecycle will need to become more mature in both its consideration of resources and the availability of relevant data.

This increased pressure from both up and down the supply chain, along with pressure from investors, may mean data centres who can achieve the 2030 target on time or earlier, whilst integrating seamlessly with customers and supply chain, will come out on top. Not only will they reduce their impact on climate change but also their operating costs through increased operating efficiencies, whilst maximising the value of existing capacity, and helping to comply with regulations and initiatives. 

Conclusion

The data centre sector has made some huge changes during a complex and challenging time and we should all feel proud of the progress that has been made to date. However, to become truly sustainable there are still many things that must change and practices that must end. There is no doubt that it is only through a wholesale approach that our sector can reach net zero. We cannot afford to stand still.

The necessity of building a sustainable fleet and optimising investment

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By André Dias, CTO and Founder, Daloop

At the beginning of this year, data suggested that 2021 saw a 4.5% drop in fleet and business new car registrations. And yet, despite this overall fall, last year recorded historic Electric Vehicle (EV) uptake within fleets and businesses, with more registrations in 2021 than in the previous five years combined.

In 2022, EV sales continue to grow, and we have witnessed new government commitments including the target of developing over 300,000 charge points across the UK by 2030. With the sale of new combustion engine vehicles set to cease in 2030, it is vital that businesses develop an EV transition plan, with the benefits of doing so far outweighing any downsides.

Future proof your organisation

Across the western world, pressure is increasing on organisations to become sustainable. Recent studies show that consumers have become increasingly eco-conscious, while governments continue to pass laws in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants from further harming our planet.

The transportation sector, which includes cars, trucks, planes, trains, and boats, is one of the top sources of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 37% of CO2 emissions from end‐use sectors. Organisations clearly have a huge role to play in reducing this figure.

With sales of combustion engine vehicles set to end in the UK, EU, and US by 2035, the onus is on businesses as well as local councils to begin to strategize ways to adopt carbon-neutral vehicles. Of course, this will be a gradual step and dependent on each organisation’s strategy and industry trends, with some industries naturally having an easier transition than others.

A recent study found that 83% of large commercial fleet operators cited environmental benefits as a top motivation for electrifying fleets. The general feeling is that change is afoot, with governmental and consumer pressure adding to the many reasons for transitioning to carbon neutral mobility. By doing so, organisations can solidify their reputation as being socially responsible and environmentally compliant and ensure that they reduce the risk of falling foul of any potential future environmental regulations.

Financially, it makes sense

With the current cost of living crisis affecting the global population, concerns have arisen as to whether many will be able to afford the investment into EVs, especially as incentives are slowly withdrawn. However, from a financial perspective, EVs are a worthy expenditure.

Firstly, reports have shown that despite rising energy costs, it remains far cheaper to charge an EV than to fill up a tank of petrol with electricity prices remaining lower than the cost of petrol. Alongside this, the increasing investment and proliferation of charge point infrastructure allows fleet managers to choose the charger or vehicle that best fits their organisation and employees’ needs and budgets.

In preparation for fleet electrification, there are many online resources allowing businesses to decipher key data such as how much CO2 their fleet currently emits, or the potential tax savings of electrifying their fleet. Here at Daloop, we recently launched our EV charge point calculator, helping organisations to calculate the number of charge points needed in staff car parks through a simple formula using staff numbers and fleet management estimates, such as the percentage of staff using a personal vehicle and those who have access to home charging. These tools reiterate the innovations leading to cost-savings associated with electric mobility.

Implementing an EV charging infrastructure, especially for consumer-facing businesses such as retailers and leisure companies, can also be monetised to create a new income stream. Not only this, but EV charging facilities encourage customers to stay longer in-store or on-site, potentially leading to for higher customer spending. For businesses in other sectors, installing local charging infrastructure can create further revenue through also create revenue through energy optimisation schemes.

While some have been scrapped – most notably the plug-in grant – financial incentives remain to electrify fleets. In the UK, electric mobility is currently exempt from annual road tax and the workplace charging scheme is still in operation (in which businesses can subsidise staff charge point installation with a government grant).  Meanwhile, for London-based fleets, EVs are eligible for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount.

Optimising investment

A growing number of businesses are considering or have already started electrifying their fleets. This will only continue as confidence grows, which will naturally take place as more people join the transition and EV infrastructure expands.

But for any business that transitions to an electrified fleet, data-driven supervision is essential. To truly optimise their investment, it is beneficial to have an intelligent software solution that can link vehicles, charge points, the electric grid, and the driver to ensure maximum control, confidence, and oversight.

Having a data-driven management platform enables fleet managers to prioritise charge points in offices and depots for commercial vehicles, meaning that these vehicles have enough journey charge on any given day. It can also ensure that they optimise energy usage, providing businesses with the means to continue making the best financial decisions for their fleet long after the initial transition.

The software that fleet managers and businesses use to manage their operations during and after their electric transition is just as essential in keeping their vehicles operational as the charge points themselves. With the correct, data-driven approach, the EV transition can be a seamless and valuable choice for any individual or business without compromising on either efficiency or costs.

With new technologies and infrastructural improvements, continued emission reduction legislation, and the many financial and environmental benefits, transitioning to an electric fleet is becoming easier and EV anxiety is fading. Fleet electrification is no longer simply desirable – it has become inevitable.

The benefits and challenges of Sustainable Procurement and how to achieve your goals

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By Mark Perera, CEO and founder, Vizibl

As a result of mounting environmental and social challenges affecting the entire globe, many organisations now place sustainability as a priority within their strategic goals. In this landscape, procurement has an enormous role to play in embedding sustainability into everyday practices and across the wider supply chain. With most of our impact on the environment and our communities sitting in the supply chain, clearly, we cannot become truly sustainable without our suppliers.

Sustainable procurement is an approach to the procurement process that embeds ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices at the heart of its specifications and its process. But how can it be achieved, and what are some of the benefits and challenges that businesses need to understand?

Future-proofing your business

Research indicates that consumers are becoming increasingly eco and socially conscious about where they buy from. Consequently, the need for businesses to proactively pursue supplier sustainability is growing. With international bodies, governments, and investors also beginning to add pressure it is vital for businesses to future-proof their organisation.

In 2021, a landmark ruling saw the energy giant Shell held to account by courts and governments for the sustainability performance of its supply chain. The ruling saw the company compelled to raise its emissions reduction commitments. Importantly, the Dutch court system made these commitments applicable not only to their own operations but also to ‘the customers and suppliers of the group.’

Business investors are also beginning to demand more action. May 2021 saw Chevron shareholders vote in favour of a proposal to cut scope 3 emissions at their AGM, signalling frustration with the company’s dilatory approach to climate change.

In another case, Exxon Mobil witnessed an activist investor staging a coup on their board over the strategic direction the company was taking regarding sustainability. Hedge fund Engine No. 1 argued that the climate crisis posed “an existential threat to the [Exxon] business”. Exxon eventually lost three board seats to Engine No. 1 and the market responded in kind, with Exxon’s share price rising 1.2% the following day.

With the UK in the midst of yet another heat wave, we are experiencing a stark reminder that the challenge of the climate crisis is not going away. And as the lifespan of an S&P 500 company continues to dwindle as enterprise organisations attempt to meet increased challenges from changing stakeholder demands, technological progress, new startup business models, and more, it is imperative that businesses adapt to the new environment. Businesses that take pre-emptive action to expand their sustainability efforts in particular will be future-proofing their business against the rising tide of fines, regulatory changes, legal rulings, and investor action.

Common challenges to Sustainable Procurement

While there are clear and desirable benefits to achieving a Sustainable Procurement programme, there are challenges that remain which can derail the necessary efforts if targets are to be achieved.

For any programme to successfully launch and scale it must have the sponsorship of executive and senior leadership. Making the case for how sustainable procurement practices impact the organisation’s strategic ESG goals is key to securing this mandate. Without the buy-in of C-suite, procurement leadership, and supply chain leaders, individual practitioners will not be able to effect change at the scale required to deliver on the organisation’s goals.

One way to secure sponsorship is through constructing a business case for expanding Sustainable Procurement practices. A common method to do this is to ensure that the true cost of existing ways of working is accounted for in the business case, such as attaching a carbon cost to business-as-usual operations.

There is also the challenge of selecting, measuring, and tracking the multitude of metrics that fall under the banner of ESG. Knowing what to measure and how to standardise this across suppliers is difficult. This ‘analysis paralysis’ is a key factor in why many organisations are slow to get started on their sustainable procurement efforts, feeling incapable of taking action until they ‘know enough.’

At Vizibl, we counsel an approach of ‘controlling the controllables’ and focusing on what the business does know to overcome this challenge. For example, with supply chain emissions, many organisations will know where most of their scope 3 falls. They will also know which categories within that cohort tend to be emissions-intensive, how much they spend on those categories, and which suppliers they work with within them. Though this cannot replace a full, robust dataset detailing the current state of play, it provides a reliable place to start making improvements whilst waiting for the full data set to arrive.

Developing a successful Sustainable Procurement strategy

For sustainable procurement to truly flourish, organisations need to forge true “customer of choice” relationships with the suppliers who are most critical to delivering on their sustainability pledges.

“Customer of choice” refers to a buyer-supplier relationship founded on trust, transparency, and robust communication, in addition to the ethos of mutual benefit. By forging this relationship, both buyers and suppliers gain priority access to one another, and can effectively deliver on both the goals of the relationship and their individual organisations. Additionally, it makes it easier to flag any issues or areas for improvement as the partnership progresses.

To address the sustainability challenges facing large enterprises, existing solutions will not suffice. In a market high on ESG hurdles and low on green products and solutions, innovation will be key to satisfying the demand for fresh ideas. “Customer of choice” suppliers come armed with a wealth of subject matter expertise, knowledge of competitors and an intimate understanding of local markets, making “customer of choice” relationships a key driver of strategic supplier innovation.

The time is now

Last year, the United Nations declared that by 2030 the world must halve greenhouse gas emissions to prevent devastating climate change. Organisations and their supply chains have a massive part to play in these reduction efforts.

Whilst many have already developed and declared their ESG goals, more must be done. Business change is occurring, but particular focus must be applied to procurement and supply chain’s role in accelerating this transformation towards sustainable business practices. Developing sustainable procurement programmes alongside dependable, trusted suppliers will certainly be a huge step in meeting necessary targets.

Understanding and overcoming the carbon reduction net-zero challenges faced by UK businesses

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By Shell Energy

It is predicted that by 2050, the world’s total energy demand is likely to double. Business energy needs will increasingly be delivered by a wider portfolio of more sustainable alternatives. This will need to be achieved in tandem with a net-zero approach, as organisations seek to further reduce the impact of energy costs on their bottom line.

Buying better is no longer enough. Companies need to focus on managing better and using less. Reducing kWh is not only the best strategy but the most effective long-term solution to reduce cost and carbon.

While insight from a recent Shell Energy survey of major UK energy users found that 99% were aware of the government’s carbon target and 90% have a comprehensive plan in place to transition to net-zero, there is still more work to be done. Further decarbonising the UK requires effort and collaboration across smart technologies and infrastructure, at an accelerating pace and level of investment.

This is reflected by the government’s Energy Security Strategy (April 2022), aiming to secure UK energy supply amongst ambitious plans to embrace decarbonisation in the long-term and manage shorter-term volatility across global markets. The goal is to increase the UK’s low carbon electricity production by 95% by 2030.

Companies nationwide are looking toward new initiatives to help them decarbonise operations, improve efficiencies, reduce overheads and save costs. Findings from our recent survey confirm this viewpoint, identifying that 90% have a plan to become net-zero, while 93% have already invested in net-zero measures.

Shell Group is also aiming to decarbonise its own operations. In October 2021, we announced a target to halve our absolute emissions by 50% by 2030, compared to 2016 levels on a net basis. By building out our power business and continuing to innovate, we can help our customers achieve their long-term decarbonisation goals.

This is echoed by businesses such as leading corrugated packaging manufacturer, Cepac, which enlisted our support to replace its traditional energy contract with the annual supply of 14GWh renewable electricity to the UK production facilities.

Businesses relying on the carbon-based status quo will see their competitive advantage diminish over the next decade. Those that take a long-term view of their energy use and see energy efficiency and decarbonisation as strategic opportunities, will not only survive, but thrive.

Find out more about Shell Energy here: www.shellenergy.co.uk/business.

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: Business Energy Solutions from Unify Energy

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By Ekta Mehra, Marketing Exec, Unify Energy

Over the last 27 months, the world has experienced a significant amount of turbulence. Since the pandemic there has been more fear of the unknown in the energy sector, especially in the UK. This has had an impact on building managers and landlords, particularly when it comes to how they charge their tenants for energy use.

Though it was already widely agreed that billing by square footage isn’t an ideal way of charging occupiers for their energy consumption, sometimes it’s the only reasonable solution and there are ratios and methods to create a fairer apportionment between users.

However, users who have requested they don’t be charged whatsoever for the times their spaces have been vacant throughout the pandemic have made landlords stop and think about how this facility could be operated once offices are full again. Without granular metering infrastructure, how do landlords or occupiers validate what has or has not been consumed by each user?

Additionally, customers are looking to their landlords to help them achieve greater sustainability, as we each strive to become more carbon neutral. Those who want their buildings to play a role in achieving the UK’s net-zero targets must start to consider how they can update their energy infrastructure to provide cleaner, greener options while also making the billing, management, and supply of energy a painless experience for their users.

Unify Energy is a fully licensed Energy Supplier. We supply the main building gas and electricity meters like other suppliers but we also specialise in the management of sub-meters supplying Energy to the sub-customers (tenants) in a building. Unify energy has 10 years of experience working with sub-metering in multi-tenanted buildings. Over the last two years, we have developed a bespoke Energy calculation and billing system that treats those sub-metered customers just as if they were the main customer in the building meaning that the customer can receive an accurate invoice for Energy supplied to their suite from an OFGEM regulated Energy supplier.  Unify Energy is the only fully regulated supplier to provide this end-to-end service.

Additionally, our systems and specialist working knowledge of how commercial buildings work allow us to account manage customers and continue to develop our systems like no other supplier. The specific way we sleeve renewable energy into our solutions also enhances customers’ opportunities to take advantage of sustainable and climate-friendly energy solutions.  This is supported by the recent example of our role in Bruntwood’s acquisition of a 42.4% share in a significant wind farm development in Scotland.

Unify Energy has a package for you no matter what type of metering infrastructure is present in the building. Our solutions are flexible depending on the services required by building owners and operators. Our unique systems accommodate every infrastructure and billing scenario.

To know more feel free to get in touch with us at 0330 058 0580 or drop us an email at hello@unifyenergy.co.uk

Energy & Carbon Savings – Data and the Physical Interface

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By ETS

Significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, through ETS’ Smart Energy Management which empowers those with drive and ambition through an approach that tenaciously maintains the lowest consumption required for any business to reduce waste, reduce spend, increase performance, and guarantee savings.

Smart data acquisition and analytics allows waste to be identified and through an engineer’s lens ETS formulate the corrective actions required, thereby reducing costs and mitigating emissions whilst improving equipment performance. Using real time data analytics, knowledgeable engineering and inciteful thought processes, our technologies are ‘smart’ – not just clever but proper ‘SMART’.

We’ve been doing this for over 24 years with some of the largest UK Companies and have witnessed the increased investment in digital technology over recent years which is a very positive illustration of organisational interests in the environmental and commercial impacts of energy. However, the lack of proper skill to interpret the data streams can be a setback to making real changes in any business. Having the newest green technology doesn’t ‘cut it’ alone, you need the ability to manage technology in a way that reflects proper energy management and drives efficiencies for the business. This is where digital meets physical in energy, data, engineering, and systems management.

Digital Meet Physical – ETS bridging the gap.

To meet this challenge ETS have competent teams and resources including Data scientists, Control specialists, Engineers and Energy managers using data in an insightful way to seek out inefficiencies and saving opportunities. Moreover, we have digital tools to help us monitor, measure, and analyse energy data to international measurement & verification standards (IPMVP).  If there is not already an energy management system in place, we can support the implementation for any organisation and ensuring compliance with industry standards.

Powering success through a well thought out and proven process of WHY reduce, WHAT to reduce and HOW to reduce. Data and knowledge of engineering dynamics allow ETS to guarantee real operational savings.

#Timewasted=kWhrswasted

To have your performance improvements identified and guaranteed contact ETS at: enquiries@energy-ts.com or Dean.Noden@energy-ts.com 0117 379 0850

https://energy-ts.com/smart-energy-management-semaas/

UK vs EU Energy Security Policy: What you need to know

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By David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy

In April 2022 the UK published its Energy Security Strategy. The key aim of the strategy is for the UK to achieve long-term independence from foreign energy sources and decarbonise the nation’s power supply. The main initiatives of the strategy are investment in nuclear generation and offshore wind, the latter being the source of hydrogen generation.

Contrasting this to EU energy security strategy (which is far more dependent on Russian gas) the EU highlights rapid action to embrace energy savings, diversification of energy supplies, and accelerated roll-out of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels in homes, industry and power generation.

UK plans are all long-term measures – it takes 10+ years to develop nuclear and offshore wind UK sees oil and gas as an important transition fuel and has set out plans to increase activity in the UK North Sea. In the meantime, CO2 reductions will be incremental at best.

EU has to act rapidly. A strong focus is on supporting energy efficiency and local renewables, which are much faster to implement.  This is also the fastest way to reduce costs and address current energy costs.

If you think about this in the context of our energy hungry industry, I think the right conclusion would be to follow the EU direction rather than wait for the long term measures. There is nothing lost by reducing consumption and using low-carbon generation to control and reduce costs.

If you would like to discuss how to be more energy efficient and use low-carbon energy generation, please contact David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy on 0151 271 0037 or email david@on-site.energy (www.on-site.energy).

Routes to deliver net zero

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By David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy

Businesses have complicated energy needs, particularly those that use a lot of thermal energy such as for steam or ovens.  Achieving net zero is going to require elements of re-engineering, re-thinking business processes, adopting new technology and changing energy purchasing strategy. But is it even possible in the current climate when those decisions will also directly affect the P&L through changed operating costs.

The main routes to net zero most businesses consider are:

  • Buy green tariffs – and hope they won’t be looked-through as “green-washing”. SECR reporting is starting to highlight energy intensity (how many kWh of energy your company uses to produce 1 kg of product) – which will aim direct comparison with competitors
  • Electrification – and hope the Government will make good on its promises to decarbonise the electricity grid
  • Await Hydrogen to move off gas – another big “if”. When or will it be commercially viable and available ?
  • Invest in energy efficiency

The problem with approaches (1) – (3)  is they will have failed to deliver the change that your customers are looking for anytime up to at least 2030. That could put your business at a competitive disadvantage. Also you are fully exposed to market volatility with these routes.

We believe the right path is option (4), to invest in reducing your energy intensity and also consider low-carbon generation solutions.  This way you reduce your CO2 footprint, reduce your exposure to the grid and are in control of your costs. Also bear in mind that the third round of ESOS is less than 2 years away, and its likely to be mandatory to enact the recommendations of the auditor.  In that ESOS round there is going to be an even greater focus on action on energy efficiency.

The challenge is keeping operating costs under control whilst achieving progress towards decarbonising and deciding when to adopt new technologies.  With a recession looking likely, capital availability may also become more difficult.  We can help deliver measures without any capex from you, using our zero-capex energy partnership solution.

If you would like to discuss how to be more energy efficient and accelerate your net zero strategy, please contact David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy on 0151 271 0037 or email  david@on-site.energy (www.on-site.energy).

Do we have to live with higher energy prices ?

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By David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy Ltd

The hikes in energy costs on the past 6 months have been nothing short of game-changing. But are they just a spike or are they here to stay ?

At 25 March 2022, the Winter=22 forward energy wholesale price for electricity was 23.2p/kWh and gas 9.0p/kWh.  You need to add non-energy costs and taxes to these, so more realistically electricity will be over 30p/kWh and gas around 10p/kWh.  Looking out to winter 2024 electricity is still at 11 p/kWh and gas is 4p/kWh.  That means Winter 2024 is double what was the norm in the first half of 2021.

So the current “crisis” prices are unlikely to subside to pre-crisis levels, and if you do nothing about it, you are going to have to learn to live with levels at least 100% more than they were in 2021.  How is this going to impact your business or its ability to decarbonise ?

But you don’t have to settle for these prices.  The steps you can take are: (1) reduce consumption through energy efficiency measures and (2) utilise onsite generation to reduce the amount of energy you draw from the grid.

Typically averaged cost of solar PV over its life is less than 8p/kWh and CHP can save around £400,000 per annum per MW installed even with the projected gas prices. With savings like these, every business should be looking at these options.

If you are not sure where to start with energy efficiency measures or onsite generation, we can help. For qualifying companies, we undertake initial evaluations free of charge and can also provide fully funded solutions so that capex needn’t be a barrier. We can also ensure that what is being proposed aligns with your sustainability goals.

If you would like to discuss how to avoid these high grid costs and have a more manageable energy cost for your business, please contact David Kipling, CEO – On-Site Energy Ltd on 0151 271 0037 or email  david@on-site.energy (www.on-site.energy).