Intelligent Power Generation (IPG) is set to demonstrate the impact of our breakthrough turbine technology in UK electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, following a £1m contract from Highways England.
We secured £1m as part of the Highways England (HE) and Innovate UK’s £20m ‘Innovation call’ to invest in projects that can help improve air quality and operation of England’s roads.
Completing in early 2021, this project will demonstrate the impact of our Flameless Ceramic Turbine technology in bringing EV charging to high-use and remote locations through clean, cheap, grid-independent power generation.
Clean, efficient, off-grid EV charging
With the UK Government set to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035, or earlier,[1] EV charging infrastructure requires considerable scaling in order to support the estimated 25 million electric and hybrid cars on the road by 2040.[2]
As a result, the UK government is set to increase the number of high-powered rapid chargepoints in England from 809 (as of 1 January 2020) to 6,000 by 2035.[3] This growth will require high megawatt capacities across England’s road networks. But, in many high-use areas and remote locations, upgrading grid connections to meet future charging demand is not practical or commercially viable.[4]
As our CEO Toby Gill describes, “in those locations that cannot acquire the power they need from the National Grid, on-site wind and solar is not always viable, leaving polluting diesel and gas generators as the only option.
“IPG’s Flameless Ceramic Turbine is essential in those instances. Through high efficiencies and breakthrough flameless combustion, our technology provides the benefits of fuel-based power without the harmful pollutants - the elimination of which is a key driver in the government-backed switch to electric vehicles.”
“Highways England is funding this project to assess how IPG's turbine technology could present a solution for delivering power at a competitive cost while improving air quality, that would alleviate grid stress in high-use areas, as well as enabling remote locations to facilitate EV charging.”
Brian Cull, Senior Intelligent Transport Systems Engineer, Highways England, says “grid access and capacity issues, as well as the infeasibility of on-site solar and wind, is a barrier for EV charging in many locations. Highways England is funding this project to assess how IPG's turbine technology could present a solution for delivering power at a competitive cost while improving air quality, that would alleviate grid stress in high-use areas, as well as enabling remote locations to facilitate EV charging.”
How it works
IPG’s Flameless Ceramic Turbine is a 100kW modular generator, delivering cleaner, cheaper, grid-independent power for the net-zero future. Up to 8 turbines fit in a 20ft shipping container, forming a deployable power solution for EV charging companies that can be scaled to match demand in any location.
In bringing power plant efficiencies to the microscale through high-temperature ceramics, IPG’s turbine delivers a 51% fuel efficiency, reduces CO2 emissions by 43% and fuel costs by up to 76%.
Breakthrough flameless combustion eliminates all pollutant emissions such as NOx, CO, and PM, and enable the fuel-flexibility that is crucial in creating demand for clean alternative fuels and accelerating the transition to a net-zero carbon economy.
As Toby Gill explains, “Not only can IPG’s technology deliver low-emission, pollutant-free energy on today’s cleaner fuels. It also enables EV charging service providers to transition to truly net-zero power, as biofuels and hydrogen become available, supporting the Government’s efforts to tackle climate change.”
[1] UK Government (April 2020), Consulting on ending the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars and vans, available at: www.gov.uk [2] Energy Saving Trust (accessed September), Developing an electric charging infrastructure, available at: energysavingtrust.org.uk [3] UK Government (May 2020), Government vision for the rapid chargepoint network in England, available at: www.gov.uk [4] Ibid.
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