Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries Could Threaten Li-ion’s Dominance
Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries Could Threaten Li-ion’s Dominance
Ongoing research on rechargeable zinc-air batteries indicates the potential of competing with lithium-ion as the power source of choice for electronic devices.
Current research on zinc-air batteries aims to transform this battery type from non-rechargeable to rechargeable. To describe how rechargeable zinc-air batteries work, we first have to look at their existing non-rechargeable counterparts, which are metal-air batteries activated by oxidizing zinc with oxygen from the air.
Non-rechargeable sizes range from very small button cells for hearing aids, to larger types used in cameras. You can’t use zinc-air batteries in a sealed battery holder because some air must come in. This battery requires oxygen in 1 liter of air for every ampere-hour of capacity.
During the discharge of a non-rechargeable zinc-air battery, a mass of zinc particles forms a porous anode, which is saturated with an electrolyte. Oxygen from the air reacts at the cathode and forms hydroxyl ions that migrate into the zinc paste and form zincate, releasing electrons to travel to the cathode. The zincate decays into zinc oxide and water that returns to the electrolyte. The water and hydroxyl from the anode are recycled at the cathode, so the water is not consumed. These reactions produce a theoretical 1.65 V, but this reduces to 1.35-1.4 V in practical cells.
It’s in the Air
Non-rechargeable zinc-air batteries have higher energy density and specific energy (and weight) ratio than other types of battery because atmospheric air is one of the battery reactants. The air is not packaged with the battery; therefore, a cell can use more zinc in the anode than a cell that must also contain, for example, manganese dioxide. This increases capacity for a given weight or volume. As a specific example, a zinc-air battery from one manufacturer with a 11.6 mm diameter and 5.4 mm height has a capacity of 620 mAh and weighs 1.9 g; various silver oxide and alkaline cells of the same size supply have a 150- to 200-mAh capacity and weigh 2.3-2.4 g.
The operating life of a zinc-air cell is a critical function of its interaction with the environment. The electrolyte loses water more rapidly in conditions of high temperature and low humidity. Because its potassium-hydroxide electrolyte is deliquescent, in very humid conditions excess water accumulates in the cell, flooding the cathode and destroying its active properties. Potassium hydroxide also reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide; carbonate formation eventually reduces electrolyte conductivity.
Because the cathode does not change properties during discharge, terminal voltage is quite stable until the cell approaches exhaustion. Its power capacity is a function of:
- Cathode area
- Air availability
- Porosity
- Catalytic value of the cathode surface
Oxygen entry into the cell must be balanced against electrolyte water loss. Cathode membranes are coated with (hydrophobic) Teflon material to limit water loss. Low humidity increases water loss; if enough water is lost the cell fails. Button cells have a limited current drain. For example, an IEC PR44 cell has a capacity of 600 mAh, but a maximum current of only 22 mA. Pulse load currents can be much higher since some oxygen remains in the cell between pulses.
Though low temperature reduces primary cell capacity, the effect is small for low drains. A cell may deliver 80{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of its capacity if discharged over 300 hours at 0°C, but only 20{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} of capacity if discharged at a 50-hour rate at that temperature. Lower temperature also reduces cell voltage.
Non-rechargeable zinc-air batteries have some properties similar to fuel cells as well as batteries: the zinc is the fuel, the reaction rate can be controlled by varying the air flow, and oxidized zinc/electrolyte paste can be replaced with fresh paste.
News_ Due to the global abundance of zinc metal, these batteries are much cheaper to produce than lithium-ion batteries. On top of that, they can store more energy (theoretically five times more than that of lithium-ion batteries), and are much safer and more environmentally friendly.
Leading the Charge on Recharging Issues
Widespread use of zinc-air batteries has been hindered by the fact that, up until now, recharging them has been difficult. This is due to the lack of electrocatalysts that successfully reduce and generate oxygen during the discharging and charging of a battery.
A new three-stage method to overcome this recharging problem was recently described in Advanced Materials. The article was authored by chemical engineering researchers from the University of Sydney (Australia) and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore).
Rechargeable zinc-air batteries show promise as a viable power-source option to lithium-ions.
According to lead author Professor Yuan Chen, from the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, the new method can be used to create bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for building rechargeable zinc-air batteries from scratch. The figure shows a prototype of one of their rechargeable zinc-air batteries.
“Up until now, rechargeable zinc-air batteries have been made with expensive precious metal catalysts, such as platinum and iridium oxide,” he said. “In contrast, our method produces a family of new high-performance and low-cost catalysts.”
These new catalysts can then be applied to build rechargeable zinc-air batteries. They are produced through the simultaneous control of their:
Paper co-author Dr Li Wei, also from the University’s Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, said trials of zinc-air batteries developed with the new catalysts had demonstrated excellent rechargeability—including less than a 10{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} battery efficacy drop over 60 discharging/charging cycles of 120 hours.
“We are solving fundamental technological challenges to realize more sustainable metal-air batteries for our society,” added Professor Chen.
Research on zinc-air batteries is also ongoing at the University of Waterloo in Canada. Their research focus is on the development of novel bifunctional catalysts capable of catalyzing both the oxygen reduction (battery discharge) and oxygen evolution (battery recharge) reactions to create practically viable rechargeable zinc-air batteries. In addition, they focus on the design and performance optimization of both air and zinc electrodes as well as a solid electrolyte membrane. Finally, their aim is to combine the components into various forms of a rechargeable zinc-air battery, such as stationary, flexible, and flow cells.
Like most research projects some questions arise:
1. Do these rechargeable versions have similar energy density and specific energy (and weight) as the existing non-rechargeable types?
2. What is the effect of temperature change on these rechargeable batteries?
3. How many times can these batteries be charged and recharged and still maintain the expected output voltage?
4. They produce a lower output voltage, so how can rechargeable zinc-air batteries compete with lithium-ion?
5. How does humidity affect performance of the rechargeable battery?
6. Are there electronic system packaging problems because these rechargeable batteries require access to air?
7. Does the design prototype produced by research lend itself to mass production of rechargeable batteries?
8. Will these rechargeable batteries be able to power electric vehicles?
- Published in Blog, Blue Moon, Green Technology, Mining, Technology
International Wastewater Systems arranges $2-million private placement
International Wastewater Systems arranges $2-million private placement
Momentum Public Relations
Press Release: May 29, 2017
International Wastewater Systems Inc. is offering, on a non- brokered private placement basis, up to 2,000 debenture units at a price of $1,000 per debenture unit for gross proceeds of up to $2-million.
Each debenture unit will consist of one $1,000 principal amount senior unsecured convertible debenture and 2,500 share purchase warrants, each exercisable into one common share of the company at 30 cents per share for a period of three years from the date of issuance.
The debentures will bear interest at a rate of 12 per cent per annum from the closing date of the placement and will mature on the date that is 36 months from the closing date. The debentures are convertible into shares at 30 cents per share at the option of the holder at any time until the maturity date, subject to adjustment in certain events.
Pursuant to the terms of the warrants, the company may abridge the exercise period of the warrants at any time after the date that is four months after the closing date and before the expiry of the warrants, if the volume weighted average closing price on the company’s shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (or such other stock exchange on which the shares are traded if the company’s shares are no longer traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange) is for a period of 20 consecutive trading days greater than 60 cents by providing written notice to the warrantholders within 30 days of a trigger event. The warrants will, unless exercised, expire on the 30th day after the company provides such written notice to the warrantholders.
The company may pay finders’ fees in connection with the placement. Proceeds of the placement will be used to help facilitate expenditures required for the five contracts awarded to IWS previously announced on May 10, 2017, as well as Prospect Silicon Valley, which focuses on commercialization of the company’s heat exchange technologies in the central California, and for general working capital. All securities distributed pursuant to the placement will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance. The placement will not be offered in the United States. Closing of the placement is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.
About International Wastewater Systems Inc.
International Wastewater is a world leader in thermal heat recovery. Its systems recycle thermal energy from waste water, generating the most energy-efficient and economical systems for heating, cooling and hot water for commercial, residential and industrial buildings.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2017 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published in Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, News Home, Technology
The Cost of Climate Change
The Cost of Climate Change
Annual costs for natural disasters in Canada pegged at almost $5 billion
Canada has just experienced extensive flooding in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. The complete cost of the disasters won’t be added up for some time; but you can bet that this past spring is going to be one of the most expensive on record. In Canada and throughout the world, we are being battered by increasingly numerous weather events, both extreme and not-so-extreme. The climate is changing.
Trying to get a handle on just exactly how much we are paying for climate change is difficult. The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer has tried. In its Estimate of the Average Annual Cost for Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements due to Weather Events, released on February 25, 2016, it comes to $4.92 billion. This is the total annual cost from hurricanes convective storms, winter storms and flooding. But this, of course, does not take into account the lost productivity resulting from weather events.
The May 9, 2017 edition of Canadian Underwriter noted that in the United States, the bill for severe flooding in April would reach the multi-billion dollar range. Severe weather in America continued to be the largest factor in global insurance losses for 2017. While extreme weather or – as they like to say, weather events – continue to get worse, we in North America have comparatively little to worry about. Consider the plight of those low-lying Pacific Ocean nations that face the prospect of disappearing; if the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic continues to melt, and the oceans continue to rise.
It has been demonstrably and scientifically proven that climate change – the gradual warming of the earth’s surface – is to a very large degree driven by the fossil fuels used to heat our homes and drive our industry and vehicles. The very sad fact behind the spectre of increasing temperatures and increased hurricanes, is that we have the technology to prevent further damage.
One rewarding characteristic of humans is that we seldom throw in the towel, and so ideas that may have seemed farfetched or even ridiculous a generation ago, sometimes have their place in the sun. The green roofs of Toronto are a good example of this. In May 2009 Toronto City Council passed a bylaw that requires that new residential, office and industrial buildings have a green roof. While the idea of building roof-top gardens is as old as the hills (think of the hanging gardens of Babylon), doing so for ecological reasons is a relatively new concept.
The simple fact is that by going green you make money by saving money.
The Toronto bylaw applies to buildings that contain 6,000 square meters of floor space or more. The percentage of the roof to be green ranges from 20{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} for buildings with a floor space of 6,000 square meters, to 60{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} for buildings with over 20,000 square meters of floor space. Residential buildings shorter than six storeys or 20 meters in height are exempt. Toronto based its green roof policy on studies conducted by professors at Ryerson University, that showed potential annual cost savings of $37.1 million dollars. The largest cost-saving category was commercial building energy. The category showed a potential cost reduction of $21.56 million annually. The comfort benefit is hard to calculate, because how do you quantify mitigating the heat sink caused by our predilection for creating concrete canyons? As you might imagine, green roofs have also been cited as a partial solution for some of the flooding that has recently occurred. This is because of the green roofs’ ability to absorb rain and reduce water runoff. Oddly enough, building green roofs can also prolong their lifespan.
If we are to avoid the rapidly approaching climate Armageddon, it is vital that climate change deniers and vapid naysayers learn the real truth about green energy and efficiency. Simply put, energy efficiency is going to be one of the leading industries of the future because it makes you money by saving you money. As the Toronto study shows, green roofs save you money by reducing heating and cooling costs. Tesla, the electric car company, is now worth more than Ford. In an April 3, 2017 story CNN Money stated that Tesla was worth US$48 billion while Ford was valued at $45 billion.
Another energy-efficient way to go about saving the environment while saving money can be found in the ingenious technology of Burnaby-based International Wastewater Systems (“IWS”). IWS has developed a way to recover the heat usually lost in wastewater. Hot water from showers, baths, dishwashers and laundry goes down the drain. But IWS builds, installs and monitors closed systems that are used to heat the hot water supply in buildings. On May 10, 2017 the company announced that it had won funding and a contract to install five systems in Scotland through its wholly owned UK subsidiary SHARC Energy Systems. The contract is worth 9.8 million pounds. The five sites are the first of 750 locations targeted for conversion in Scotland.
In some ways the system is as simple as your own furnace. In the typical household furnace, natural gas or fuel oil is used to power a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger, in turn, warms the water in a radiator system, or the air in a forced air system. The genius in the IWS system was to develop a filtering system fine enough to prevent waste from clogging the heat exchanger. The system is completely sealed to ensure that there is no risk of water contamination, and continuously monitored to prevent any problems.
The return on investment (“ROI”) varies. A hospital in Boston, for example, that used electric boilers to heat its water had an IWS system installed. It cost $800,000, but the new system will save the hospital approximately $2 million per year and pay for itself within six months. IWS heat recovery systems can be installed in institutional, multi-residential, and industrial buildings. As described in a September 2016 interview with James West of the Midas Letter in the Financial Post, the payback period for residential buildings with 200 or so units is usually two to three years. If you are now telling yourselves this seems too good to be true, the real kicker is that the recovery systems have an anticipated lifespan of 40 years.
By Noel Meyer
- Published in Blog, Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, Technology
International Wastewater (IWS:CSE) Announces Grants of £4.95 Million
International Wastewater Announces Grants of £4.95 Million From the “Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme” (Management by the Scottish Government)
Momentum Public Relations
Press Release: May 10, 2017
International Wastewater Systems Inc (CSE:IWS)(CSE:IWS.CN)(FRANKFURT:IWI)(OTC PINK:INTWF) (“IWS” or the “Company”) is pleased to advise that IWS’s wholly owned UK subsidiary, SHARC Energy Systems, has been awarded grant support to facilitate the installation of SHARC wastewater heat recovery systems at five locations across Scotland totaling £9.8 million.
Funding from the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme (LCITP) – managed through the Scottish Government – has been granted to enable the development of five new projects that will play a pioneering role in transforming heating systems at various commercial and local authority sites.
CEO Lynn Mueller states that “the contracts being awarded today by the Scottish Government provide the Company with first 5 of the 750 sites identified for conversion in Scotland, these are the culmination of over two years of hard work by the Company and its employees. This announcement is the game changer which the Company has been waiting for.”
SHARC’s innovative technology enable the sewers’ wastewater to be used to generate renewable heat. This, in turn, produces significant savings in energy and reductions in carbon emissions, and at the same time reduces the overall costs of supplying energy. These Scottish installations acknowledge IWS’s cornerstone technology by demonstrating how the IWS unique technology can provide energy and costs saving solutions which can be deployed across a wide range of geographies to support both corporate and residential customers, as well as a platform for wide scale low carbon district heating.
Under the plans, SHARC’s ‘heat-from-wastewater’ technology is earmarked to heat Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow, a leisure centre and public library in Campeltown, a leisure centre in Orkney and a new district heating scheme at the Clyde Gateway regeneration project in Glasgow. The LCITP funding is being matched by commercial finance that will facilitate the required capital investment to establish local energy centres that will generate their income from sales of heat to the customers involved.
Scottish Water Horizons and SHARC Energy Systems have been collaborating over the last three years to promote the adoption of sewage heat recovery in Scotland, and last year announced their intentions to form a strategic alliance, and both parties see the LCITP announcement as playing a key role in building on their work to use Scotland’s water resources to help generate renewable energy.
Already deployed in North America and Europe, the SHARC technology works by using a heat pump to amplify the warmth of waste water in sewers – such as from showers, dishwashers and washing machines. This generates an energy-saving, cost-effective and environmentally friendly system for heating, cooling and hot water production in commercial premises and homes – as opposed to the use of traditional fossil fuels such as gas boilers.
Paul Kerr, recently appointed Head of Scottish Water Horizons, said: “We are delighted that funding has been awarded to enable the acceleration of this innovative technology at key locations across Scotland.
“Beneath our streets there is an alternative energy source that so far has been ignored. The potential benefits of this technology in further developing ways to reduce energy costs, cut carbon emissions and protect the environment for businesses and public organizations cannot be understated.
“With 32,000 miles of sewers pipes across Scotland and Scottish Water treating more than 900 million litres of waste water every year, the opportunities presented from this technology are clear to see.
“Using the sewer network to transfer heat means that the heat source can be used to supply heat to the customer as close as possible to the customer’s premises. This minimizes the cost and disruption of installing new heat pipes in the street.
“Our alliance with SHARC Energy Systems is helping to deploy this proven technology on a wider scale, providing an innovative lower cost heating solution which will help to contribute to a sustainable circular economy, tackle the threat posed by climate change and provide additional employment within local areas.”
The new projects in the pipeline are:
Bandwidth Project:
Three heat from sewage schemes have been aggregated into one proposal – with a total investment of £3.8m – known as the Bandwidth project. The project is planned to deliver sustainable heat to the Aqualibrium Leisure Centre and Public Library at Campbeltown, the Pickaquoy Leisure Centre at Kirkwall and the Kelvingrove Museum in Glasgow. SHARC Energy are working through the final design details that will enable the schemes to be spade ready later this year and facilitate construction over the next twelve months, creating cost and carbon benefits to the Local Authorities involved.
Clyde Gateway project
Clyde Gateway and its partners, including SHARC Energy Systems, have developed a plan to support a low carbon heating and cooling network for Magenta at Clyde Gateway, which will see 1.2 million square feet of commercial space across 27 acres within the satellite business district of Shawfield with a total investment of £6.0m.
Russ Burton, COO of International Wastewater Systems, said: “The announcement by the LCITP today is a significant step for the business and a resounding endorsement of the passion and dedication by the SHARC team in developing solutions that meet customer requirements and build on the company’s values.
“We have been working tirelessly over the last three years to support the Scottish Government’s ambitions for decarbonizing heating systems. With the support of Scottish Water Horizons and the Local Authorities involved in these schemes, we are delighted to be a part of this low carbon revolution and are looking forward to being able to make further announcements about our long-term role in the Scottish economy over the next few months.”
Work to bring the projects to construction ready status is well advanced and on target to meet the LCITP’s qualifying completion date of September 2018 to qualify for the grant.
The go-ahead for the projects follows the launch of the UK’s first SHARC energy recovery system at Scottish Borders College at its campus in Galashiels. The process — which has seen the heat produced being sold to Scottish Borders College under a 20-year purchase agreement — now provides the majority of the heat and hot water needed by the campus and has helped to save 150 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
The collaboration between Scottish Water Horizons and SHARC Energy Systems has identified a £20m pipeline of potential installations across Scotland that when deployed would generate 170 GWHs (Giga Watt Hours – 1 GWH would power one million homes for one hour) per year of heating and cooling to displace the fossil fuel currently used.
The Company would also like to announce the granting of 4,000,000 two year stock options priced at $0.265 to management.
About International Wastewater Systems Inc. (CSE:IWS)(FRANKFURT:IWI)(OTC PINK:INTWF)
International Wastewater Systems Inc. is a world leader in thermal heat recovery. Through the development of its SHARC line of equipment for large applications, and its PIRANHA line of equipment for smaller applications, the Company can engineer energy saving solutions for most multi-residential complexes, as well as reduce energy costs as well as the carbon footprint for a variety of industries. Sewage that runs through municipal pipe networks is 98{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} composed of water and has a temperature of about 21 to 22 degrees Centigrade. A US Department of Energy study found that 400 billion kilowatt-hours of energy, or $40 billion worth of power, is lost through the draining of sewage each year in the US alone. The objective of IWS is to obtain a 5-10{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} share of this potential within the next five years.
About Scottish Water Horizons Ltd
Scottish Water Horizons Ltd is a commercial subsidiary wholly owned by Scottish Water. The company plays a key role in supporting the development of Scotland’s sustainable and circular economy by making the most of the public utility’s vast array of assets.
From generating renewable energy from waste, wind and solar power to recycling food and aggregates waste, Scottish Water Horizons is improving connections, communications and enabling sustainable development.
The company’s growth strategy is to support Scotland as a developing Hydro Nation and take opportunities to harness Scottish Water’s asset base through both its own development and working in partnership with other organizations including the public and private sectors.
For more information, please visit our website: www.sewageheatrecovery.com
- Published in Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, News Home, Technology
IWS Announces Management Change
IWS Announces Management Change
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – May 8, 2017) – International Wastewater Systems Inc. (“IWS” or the “Company”) (CSE:IWS)(CSE:IWS.CN)(CNSX:IWS)(FRANKFURT:IWI)(OTC PINK:INTWF) announces that Yaron Conforti will be leaving his role as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and a member of its Board of Directors, to pursue new opportunities.
Mr. Conforti will remain a consultant to IWS to assist with the transition to the newly appointed CFO, Mr. David Alexander, CA, CPA. Mr. Alexander has extensive experience as a CFO and his past achievements include CFO of Arakis Energy Corporation (subsequently sold to Talisman Energy TSX:TLM), and Nortran Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (later Cardiome Pharma NASDAQ:CRME).
Lynn Mueller, Chairman and CEO of IWS commented: “Yaron Conforti provided valuable leadership as our CFO and a member of our Board of Directors since 2015. I would like to thank him for his contributions and wish him every success in the future. We welcome David Alexander, an experienced CFO who further strengthens our management team during a period of significant growth for IWS.”
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Lynn Mueller, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
About International Wastewater Systems Inc.
International Wastewater Systems Inc. is a world leader in thermal heat recovery. IWS systems recycle thermal energy from wastewater, generating the most energy efficient and economical systems for heating, cooling & hot water for commercial, residential and industrial buildings. IWS is publicly traded in Canada (CSE:IWS)(CSE:IWS.CN)(CNSX:IWS), the United States (OTC PINK:INTWF) and Germany (FRANKFURT:IWI).
CONTACT INFORMATION
-
International Wastewater Systems Inc.
Lynn Mueller
CEO
(604) 475-7710
- Published in Bio technology, Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, News Home, Technology
IWS Announces DC Water Installation
IWS Announces DC Water Installation
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – May 2, 2017) – International Wastewater Systems Inc. (“IWS” or the “Company”) (CSE:IWS)(CSE:IWS.CN)(FRANKFURT:IWI)(OTC PINK:INTWF) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a US$330,000 (CAN$478,000) contract to supply its innovative SHARC thermal energy exchange system to the new headquarters of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (“DC Water”) in Washington, DC.
The new $60 million headquarters (“DC Water HQ”) is being constructed on the waterfront of the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, DC and will serve as the new public face for the agency. DC Water’s green initiatives will be showcased in a deeply innovative facility featuring a bold and distinctive design developed by SmithGroupJJR in collaboration with Skanska. The building is designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and will also employ many advanced strategies that will surpass LEED Platinum certification.
The SHARC system will allow DC Water HQ to use its own wastewater as a source of thermal energy to condition the building. This project represents a historic HVAC first. The DC Water HQ building will be the first ever deployment of this technology used to both heat and cool a building in the USA.
With two-thirds of all the outflow from DC’s sewers flowing through the underground infrastructure on the site, the system will have a virtually uninterruptible supply of thermal energy. Utilizing this technology, the design team has calculated that the DC Water HQ will take its place as one of the lowest energy-consuming office buildings in the region.
“The idea of building a 150,000-square-foot headquarters building directly over a pumping station would normally be viewed as implausible,” said SmithGroupJJR’s Corporate Director of Engineering Don Posson. “But by doing so, DC Water will be able to leverage the station’s wastewater to provide enough power to heat and cool this large building. It’s a breakthrough solution and a perfect complement to DC Water’s objective of a greener, healthier District of Columbia.”
IWS will install the SHARC 440 model with a flow rate of 250 gallons per minute, providing the primary energy source for building heat, and the primary energy rejection source for building cooling. IWS’s SHARC technology is a major contributor to the project’s LEED® Platinum 96 credit threshold, delivering one of the lowest energy consumption rates per unit of floor area possible, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 40{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce}, and water consumption by hundreds of thousands of gallons annually.
Lynn Mueller, CEO of IWS commented: “DC Water’s new state-of-the-art building is a world class design-build project. The integration of SHARC technology demonstrates the world-class caliber of IWS’s projects and partners, and represents the increased adoption of IWS systems in the United States.”
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Lynn Mueller, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
About International Wastewater Systems Inc.
International Wastewater Systems Inc. is a world leader in thermal heat recovery. IWS systems recycle thermal energy from wastewater, generating the most energy efficient and economical systems for heating, cooling & hot water for commercial, residential and industrial buildings. IWS is publicly traded in Canada (CSE:IWS)(CSE:IWS.CN), the United States (OTC PINK:INTWF) and Germany (FRANKFURT:IWI).
Forward-Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “projects”, “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
CONTACT INFORMATION
-
International Wastewater Systems Inc.
Yaron Conforti
CFO and Director
(416) 716 8181
yaron.conforti@iws-sharc.com
- Published in Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, News Home, Technology
Biggest U.S. Companies Setting More Renewable-Energy Targets
Biggest U.S. Companies Setting More Renewable-Energy Targets
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Corporations bought 2.5 gigawatts of clean energy last year
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Fortune 500 companies saving $3.7 billion with clean power
Almost half of the biggest U.S. companies have established clean-energy targets for themselves, according to a report Tuesday from sustainable investors and environmental groups including the World Wildlife Fund.
It’s not just the biggest U.S. companies — 44 percent of the smallest 100 members of the Fortune 500 have also set goals, up from 25 percent in 2014, and 48 percent of the entire list.
Many are finding that renewable energy isn’t just cleaner, it’s also often cheaper. About 190 Fortune 500 companies collectively reported about $3.7 billion in annual savings, according to Power Forward 3.0, a report by WWF, Ceres, Calvert Research & Management and CDP.
“We’re not talking about anecdotal information anymore,” Marty Spitzer, a WWF senior director of climate and renewable energy in Washington, said in an interview. “We’re talking about large, large savings.”
Potential savings and sustainability goals prompted corporations to buy almost 3.7 gigawatts of power generated by clean-energy projects in 2015, and another 2.5 gigawatts last year, almost all from wind and solar, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
But it’s no longer just tech companies. About 63 percent of Fortune 100 companies have clean-energy targets, according to the report. Such targets include commitments to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and increase energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The 190 Fortune 500 companies reported emission reductions equivalent to mothballing 45 coal-fired power plants for a year, according to the report. It also found that 23 of Fortune 500 companies have 100 percent renewable-energy targets.
By Brian Eckhouse
- Published in Bio technology, Blog, Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, News Home, Technology
International Wastewater installs SHARC system at False Creek
International Wastewater installs SHARC system at False Creek
Momentum Public Relations
Press Release: April 12, 2017
International Wastewater Systems Inc (C:IWS)
Shares Issued 95,623,894
Last Close 4/11/2017 $0.22
Wednesday April 12 2017 – News Release
Mr. Lynn Mueller reports
IWS COMPLETES METRO VANCOUVER INSTALLATION
International Wastewater Systems Inc. has completed the installation of a SHARC thermal energy exchange system at the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility in Vancouver.
The False Creek SHARC was announced in August, 2016, following the successful collaboration between International Wastewater and Metro Vancouver. Metro Vancouver is a partnership of 21 municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty first nation that collaboratively plans for and delivers regional-scale services across the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.
The False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility is a large-scale district heating network that began operations in 2010 and currently provides space heating and hot water for 4.3 million square feet (395,000 square metres) of residential, commercial and institutional space.
International Wastewater installed its newest and largest capacity system at False Creek, the model 880. The SHARC 880 offers the highest capacity of any SHARC system to date, with flow rates of up to 1,500 gallons per minute, a capacity increase of three times when compared with existing SHARC models. The False Creek SHARC installation will include two SHARC 880 systems working in tandem and will initially operate over 12-month period to demonstrate the economic and energy efficiencies of the system.
This is the second time that a SHARC system has been integrated into a district heating network following International Wastewater’s installation at Borders College (Scotland) in 2015. Large-scale energy networks are a growing trend as municipalities look to increase energy efficiency and reliability, decarbonize energy grids and reduce life-cycle costs.
Lynn Mueller, chief executive officer of International Wastewater, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Metro Vancouver on their district heating network. This SHARC installation showcases the capability of [International Wastewater] technology when applied to large-scale, low-carbon thermal networks.”
About International Wastewater Systems Inc.
International Wastewater Systems is a world leader in thermal heat recovery. International Wastewater’s systems recycle thermal energy from wastewater, generating the most energy-efficient and economical systems for heating, cooling and hot water for commercial, residential and industrial buildings.
© 2017 Canjex Publishing Ltd.
From Stockwatch News
- Published in Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, Life Sciences, News Home, Technology
International Wastewater Systems closes $725,100 last financing tranche
International Wastewater Systems closes $725,100 last financing tranche
Momentum Public Relations
Press Release: April 07, 2017
International Wastewater Systems Inc., further to its news release dated Feb. 27, 2017, has closed the final tranche of the company’s brokered private placement, led by Haywood Securities Inc. as agent.
Under the final tranche of the brokered placement, the company has issued 2,417,000 units at a price of 30 cents per unit for gross proceeds of $725,100. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant of the company. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share until Feb. 27, 2019, at an exercise price of 40 cents per share.
The company has paid cash commissions in the amount of $31,282.50 from the sale of units under the final tranche of the brokered placement. The company has also issued to the agent and members of the selling group an aggregate of 104,275 non-transferable warrants. Each agent’s warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share at a price of 30 cents until Feb. 27, 2019.
As previously announced on Jan. 19, 2017, the company amended the terms of the company’s non-brokered private placement completed on Dec. 23, 2016, to offer each participant in the non-brokered placement one warrant for each share purchased in the non-brokered placement on the same terms as the brokered placement. Accordingly, the company has issued a total of 2,275,333 warrants to purchasers from the non-brokered placement.
In total, the company raised aggregate gross proceeds of $2,205,655 pursuant to the non-brokered placement and the brokered placement.
All securities distributed pursuant to the brokered placement and non-brokered placement are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and a day from the date of issuance.
About International Wastewater Systems Inc.
International Wastewater Systems is a world leader in thermal heat recovery. International Wastewater’s systems recycle thermal energy from waste water, generating the most energy-efficient and economical systems for heating, cooling and hot water for commercial, residential and industrial buildings.
© 2017 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published in Bio technology, Energy, Green Technology, International Wastewater Systems, News Home, Technology
Renewable Energy Defining Point Reached As Economies of Scale Kick In And Tesla’s Elon Musk Bets He Can Save South Australia from Power Shortages
Renewable Energy Defining Point Reached As Economies of Scale Kick In And Tesla’s Elon Musk Bets He Can Save South Australia from Power Shortages
Are Cobalt Shortages In The Future?
Image source: WIRED
Tesla billionaire Elon Musk says he can install battery farm within 100 days or it’s free.
There’s more than just a little irony in the air these days. Just as Donald Trump plans to reduce energy efficiency standards for cars in the United States, a defining point in the history of renewable energy has been made in the form of a bet between billionaire Elon Musk and the State of South Australia. It is the moment that economies of scale kick in driving down and making the cost of grid scale renewable energy rollout feasible.
An energy crisis has been brewing for some time in sunny South Australia leading to blackouts and price spikes. As the debate raged on about how to solve it Musk stepped in during early March and offered to solve the problem by installing 100-300 MW hours of renewable energy electric grid scale battery storage within 100 days of signing the contract.
When Mike Cannon-Brookes tweeted to ask if Musk was serious Musk replied that if he couldn’t do it within 100 days of signing the agreement it would be free of charge. Cannon-Brookes was interested because he is Australian. He is also the co-founder of Silicon Valley start-up Atlassian which builds software development tools. Being Australian, Cannon-Brookes asked Tesla for a “mates rate.” Although contract figures have not been released Cannon-Brookes told the Australian media that Musk offered to almost halve the cost of the project.
Tesla has just finished building a battery farm in southern California that can provide 80 MW Hours of storage at a cost of $100 million in 90 days. Musk is a high-tech visionary who has made his visions pay. In February 2017 his net worth was calculated at $13.9 billion. He co-founded PayPal, Tesla Motors, Solar City and founded SpaceX, the commercial space transportation business.
Long a renewable energy advocate Tesla has built a second business in residential, commercial and electric grid storage batteries under the Tesla Powerwall banner and SolarCity, which he cofounded with a cousin to provide residential battery storage solutions. Musk has frequently noted that he is in the process of changing Tesla from a car company into a clean energy company. Tesla has also recently launched a roofing product designed to take the ugly out of solar panels by producing solar panel roofing shingles that look like slate, in a variety of attractive colours.
Musk’s ability to fulfill his promise to South Australia lies in the fact that on January 17th, 2017 Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory, located near Reno, started production.
The Gigafactory has already supplied the batteries for a battery farm in southern California. Tesla has grid scale battery farm projects on the go in the UK, Connecticut, North Carolina, Hawaii and New Zealand. Only a third of the 4.9 million square foot Gigafactory which will cost $5 billion and is part of a partnership with Panasonic is up and running but by 2018 it will have doubled global lithium-ion battery production. Two of the most commonly used lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, including Tesla’s, use cobalt as part of the mix.
Large scale rollouts of solar, wind and water energy have been held back by the high cost of storing the electricity generated. Tesla’s Gigafactory and his consequent offer to South Australia are a game changer indicating that although battery storage costs have been falling for years, now they are about to tumble, thanks to economies of scale. It is estimated that Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries which also use nickel and cobalt are about a third less expensive than other batteries. This also means that the cost of electric vehicles and hybrids will begin to drop.
Last year IHS predicted the electric grid scale utility storage battery market to hit US$19 Billion during 2017. Taiyou Research predicts a US$ 30 Billion market in rechargeable Li-ion batteries by 2020.
If you don’t believe that clean energy will become a very viable industry in the near future you should bear in mind that if this year’s game changer is Tesla’s Gigafactory and the economies of scale that will play in strengthening the renewable energy rollout then last year’s may very well have taken place when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, Linkedin founder Reid Hoffman, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Chairman of the Board of trustees, Alwaleweed Philanthropies, Saudi Arabia, among others announced the creation of a clean energy investment group, The Breakthrough Energy Coalition. The coalition is made up of 28 high net-worth entrepreneurs from ten different countries.
Entrepreneurs who have changed the fabric of modern life are already on board. Warren Buffet, through Berkshire Hathaway has invested US$1 Billion and Bill Gates is investing US$1 Billion of his personal money and US$2 Billion through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in renewable energy.
Battery and cobalt demand won’t just be driven by smartphones and Tesla. According to Rockstone Research the Germans are building a battery factory twice as large as Tesla’s, the Chinese are building four that are bigger than the Nevada Gigafactory, the Japanese are building two and the South Koreans are building one.
Savvy retail investors may be wondering how to take part in this emerging market and one perspective may be to look at it as a commodity market. Lithium stocks went through a gold rush period a few years ago propelled by the rechargeable battery market and now thanks to the amount of cobalt in a car battery and in laptops and smart phones it looks as if cobalt is set to takeoff. The battery pack for Tesla Model S, for instance, contains an estimated 22.5 Kg of cobalt.
Another factor that comes into play is secure supply and ethical sourcing. The refined product market is largely controlled by China, which has a history of trade embargoes and tariff walls when it comes to protecting resources and products for itself. The majority of raw cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo where much of the mining is done by child workers.
Nobody wants to drive a car or use a cell-phone powered by child labour and so the hunt is on for ethically sourced, securely supplied cobalt. Elon Musk has said that he is going to source the raw materials for his batteries from North America. At the moment there are no producing cobalt mines in North America. Exploration, however, is being fast tracked. Cruz Cobalt is one of the junior mining companies that may benefit. Commodity research house CRU has predicted cobalt demand to rise by 16{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} annually through 2022.
The LME has predicted that by 2020 the amount of cobalt used in rechargeable batteries could equal the total amount refined in 2015.
In a recent press release announcing the acquisition of the Chicken Hawk Cobalt Prospect in Montana, Cruz Cobalt, (CUZ—TSXV, BKTPF—OTCBB, A2AG5M–FSE), Cruz Cobalt President James Nelson stated:
“This new prospect now makes 9 cobalt prospects within North America that Cruz has secured. Cruz has also secured one of the largest land packages, consisting of 4 separate cobalt prospects, all located in the Cobalt/Silver district of Ontario surrounding the city of Cobalt. Cobalt prices continue to trade to new 5 year highs and have been on a significant uptrend over the past 12 months. Cruz is fully funded to commence operations on all of its 9 cobalt prospects and management expects to be on the ground very shortly.” If Cruz is successful then early investors will benefit accordingly. As of March 17, CUZ traded at $0.205 and has a total of 55,065,386 shares and a market cap of $11,288,404.
Another promising Canadian company exploring for cobalt is Kings Bay, (TSXV: KBG) which over the last year has acquired five prospective cobalt properties, two in Newfoundland Labrador and three in Northern Quebec. Kings Bay was recently reported on in the Financial Post where CEO Kevin Bottomley stated that the company’s Lynx Lake project near Happy Valley Goose Bay had shown initial results with very high cobalt numbers. The company has recently acquired a highly prospective cobalt property on Trump Island in NL. Their three properties in Quebec were worked on by Falconbridge around 2000 and Bottomley describes them as having initial positive results. Bottomley was previously associated with mining incubator Zimtu Resources and as a result has access to a network of European investors eager to invest in Canadian resource projects. Kings Bay traded at $0.18 on March 17, 2017 and has 41 million shares and a market cap of $7 million.
By Noel Meyer
- Published in Blog, Cruz Cobalt, Energy, Green Technology, King's Bay, Mining, Technology