ECOnomics

The latest in environmentally friendly business ideas

ECO-FRIENDLY MACHINERY CLEANING:Drinks companies toast non-toxic disinfection

A RESEARCHER BASED at UCD’s Clarity research centre has simplified the process of energy management. Businesses use these to reduce their energy consumption and associated costs and emissions.

The advantage of Dr Antonio Ruzzelli’s Veutility technology – which recently won the Ireland’s Innovator award at Globe Forum Dublin – is that it uses data from a single smart meter to calculate a signature for each appliance using electricity.

This signature, which the company calls “appliance DNA”, is then used to track that appliance’s energy consumption via an internet-based interface.

Most competing energy management systems can only measure the consumption of appliances by connecting a sensor to each one, but this is not necessary with Veutility’s algorithm-based technology.

Its system works with any off-the-shelf smart meter and only one meter is required for each business or building. It works without having to be paired, or “trained”, with an appliance.

It also allows users to compare energy consumption between businesses or buildings.

The system will also track how the signatures of appliances change as they become less efficient over time.

Dr Ruzzelli aims to create a database of appliance DNA profiles that can be used to recommend the most energy efficient equipment.

Veutility’s business model will be based on subscriptions, which will vary depending on the size of the customer.

The company is targeting businesses with large electricity bills and it is trialling its technology with firms in several business sectors.

In hotels the trials are showing results of 20 to 40 per cent reductions in energy consumption.

“This is a €1 billion potential market and we would like to be there. With our technology we can make smart meters smarter. We are piloting our system in six large companies in Ireland but we would now like to expand abroad and we are seeking funding of €500,000 to take our business to the next level,” Dr Ruzzelli said.

ENERGY MANAGEMENT:The science of appliance consumption

AN AWARD-WINNING, Tipperary-based cleantech company is helping Coca-Cola to reduce its water footprint and use of chemicals and electricity at bottling plants in Asia.

Trustwater claims it has the world’s most advanced technology for cleaning and disinfection, which is a vital element in food and beverage industries, the pharmaceutical, oil and gas industries and healthcare and hospitality services.

Last month the company was named Manufacturing Exporter of the Year at the Irish Exporters’ Association’s Export Industry Awards.

Trustwater manufactures a range of generators – from wall-mountable or table-top size to large industrial-scale – which produce two solutions at the same time. Aversol, a detergent, and Ecasol, a disinfectant solution, are both said to be more effective than traditional detergents and disinfectants. They are less corrosive on machinery than chemicals, are non-toxic and kind to the environment.

In addition, they eliminate the costs of chemical use, they can halve the amount of water needed to clean equipment, and they reduce cleaning times. They also cut energy use by up to 60 per cent.

“The average drinks bottling plant spends €155,000 every year on rinsing and cleaning their plants, with a lot of this being spent on expensive chemicals in addition to the water and energy. “By installing our technology, plant owners see a return on their investment in less than 12 months. We’re also helping customers meet sustainability targets, for example where Coca-Cola aim to reduce their water footprint by 20 per cent by 2015,” said chief executive Edmond O’Reilly.

He started Trustwater in 2004, when he set out to use applied innovation methods to develop solutions. With a background in electrical contracting, and having built up and sold a recycling company, he acquired six patents and brought them together at a small RD facility in Clonmel, which led to Trustwater developing six of its own patents for its technologies.

Having collaborated with Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Dental School and, with a team of engineers and PhD researchers, he began trialling their technology in 2006, before demonstrating it to potential customers in 2008.

Over €10 million has been invested in Trustwater’s technology development and market roll-out. Its systems have been installed in beverage plants in China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil and Mexico.

With offices in Norway, Germany and the US, the firm plans to open a further three overseas offices this year, including one in Singapore.

Enterprise Ireland has a small stake in the company, which employs 40 people – 30 in Ireland, five elsewhere in Europe and five in the US.

In brief

CORK FIRMEras Eco plans to invest €10 million in a sewage-to-energy plant in Youghal

PLANS TO develop a 5MW solar farm in Cornwall have been approved in the UK

SIEMENS' RENEWABLEenergy division increased sales by 48 per cent, to $1.3 billion last year

BRITISH WEATHERServices has launched a personal meteorologist service for businesses

A JAPANESEgovernment fund will invest up to €820 million in overseas cleantech projects involving Japanese companies

THE EMPIREState Building's electricity will be 100 per cent generated by wind power for the next two years as part of a deal with a new clean energy provider

ELECTRONICS GIANT LGhas launched a smart home appliances range that uses off-peak electricity

THE USstate of Massachusetts aims to cut CO2 emissions by 25 per cent by 2020

A CHINESEgovernment report says its economic growth is causing €157 billion of environmental damage per year

THE UKgovernment has launched a scheme to fast-track cleantech patents

PROCTER & GAMBLEhas opened a factory in the US that produces no waste