Rapid growth in the world’s renewable energy markets and an increasing need for improved power quality in national electricity grids is driving demand for high temperature superconducting (HTS) technologies, according to Zenergy Power plc.
Zenergy, a UK-based manufacturer and developer of commercial applications for HTS materials, says a number of key technological advancements and commercial collaborations have put it in a position to take advantage of growth in the market and it has raised £10 million through a placing of new ordinary shares.
Zenergy will use the new funds as working capital to expand its commercial activities including the development of industrial devices for use in renewable energy and transmission and distribution activities. The company is also aiming to develop its own proprietary lower cost production techniques for its second generation HTS wires.
In September this year Zenergy completed the world’s first commercial sale of an industrial scale device employing HTS materials – a proprietary HTS induction heater.
A number of commercial collaborations with companies such as Converteam SAS and ThyssenKrupp VDM have provided a channel to market for Zenergy’s technologies, and the company has also received funding from government bodies in Europe, North America and Australia.
Zenergy is developing a range of proprietary HTS components that could reduce the cost of the production of offshore wind power by around 25 per cent. In June the company secured an exclusive five-year co-operation agreement to jointly develop, manufacture, market and sell HTS generators into the global wind and hydropower markets with Converteam.
Zenergy has also reported successes with its HTS fault current limiter (FCL) programme and has been commissioned by the California Energy Commission to install the first HTS medium-voltage FCL in the USA into the electricity grid of Southern California Edison. It has also been awarded a $11 million grant in June by the US Department of Energy to develop and install a high voltage version of the HTS FCL into the grid of a major US utility.