SMARTNET™ CHICKEN & EGG SITUATION

WHAT CAME FIRST, THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG ?

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CLEANING UP OUR ACT - Climate change is forcing the pace for zero emission solutions, but we still have no sustainable energy supply system for EVs. Nor do we have back up storage against power cuts.

Henrietta above, thinks she may have something to chirp about. She thinks she may have cracked it.

The rush to adopt Electric vehicles presents us with a classic chicken and egg situation, as to what comes first, when contrasted against the lack of supporting infrastructure.

In small numbers, plug in charging using mains electricity is fine. No overload. But as soon as the numbers creep up, we have a major re-dispatch issue, hence V2G as a possible solution.

Of course there is the small matter of the time it takes to charge up. But, let's leave that for now.

Hydrogen fuel cell powered EVs, present a different problem. There is no hydrogen gas main to tap into just yet. And not enough vehicles to operate dedicated high pressure service points (at a station) on an equitable basis. These could not be roadside units as with battery EVs, and at present hydrogen needs to be trucked in.

What if there was a service station that could charge BEVs and supply pressurised hydrogen for FCEVs, as well as Methanol and ammonia, should that become popular. What if that same service station could also provide fast unmanned energy exchanges for compatible Robotrucks and Robotaxis, with automatic billing.

What if this service station could also load level erratic supplies of solar and wind generated electricity, store it, and give it back to the grid when needed. Especially important when it comes to extreme weather events, like storms and floods.

Well, that is what SmartNet™ does.

Why put all your eggs in one basket?

The only problem is going from the egg of a concept, to the chicken that lays eggs. We are a small entity with limited resources. We are an egg waiting to hatch our ideas. One way that might happen is with a consortium led by bigger organisations, with similar objectives. Perhaps, aiming for the forthcoming Cluster 5 Horizon Europe collaborations, as an example.

EU & HORIZON EUROPE FUNDING APPLICATIONS

The official position regarding EU funding for UK concerns, is that the UK has applied for association to Horizon Europe but that the EU has yet to formalise this. 

However, both the UK Government and the EU have made it clear that UK companies do not need to wait for formal association to apply for funding. You can see more about their positions here:

   • From UKRI: https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/horizon-europe/

   • From the European Commission: UK participation in Horizon Europe

In November 2021, the UK Government announced that it will underwrite any applications for organisations applying under the first wave of calls, so that they can continue to participate in Horizon Europe projects even if formal association has not yet been approved. Further details of how this will work and the eligibility criteria can be found here:

https://www.ukri.org/publications/horizon-europe-guarantee-notice-and-guidance/

To answer the specific issue in the first question, as I understand both the European Commission guidance and the UK guarantee notice, a UK company applying as part of the consortium should be treated as if it comes from an Associated Country right through the process, up to the point that any successful application reaches the point of signing the grant agreement.

If, at that point, the UK’s association to Horizon Europe has still not been formalised, the UK participant may be asked to become an “Associated Partner” instead. Such a partner does not sign the grant agreement and the costs of their participation would be covered by the UK Government guarantee for the lifetime of the project (i.e. even if the UK becomes formally associated once their project starts, their UK grant would continue).

Help Henrietta crack this nut. Enter a car in the OEM eco challenge. Production battery electric cars that are converted to hydrogen fuel cell may be entered as custom builds - so long as they are road legal in the country they are operated and run on hydrogen or a H2 compound.

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