Thermigate's Photovoltaic Intensification System

Online, July 3, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Thermigate LLC is a social enterprise that is developing a novel innovation which will provide subsistence farmers in developing countries like Liberia and Togo with irrigation watering systems year round, a freezer for food conservation, a solar cooker which eliminates the use of pollutant combustible fuel such as petroleum, and free electricity for appliances like phones and computers. Thermigate's patent-pending Photovoltaic Intensification System (PIS) has been tested, and was found to optimize the efficiency of solar cells, and increases overall energy accumulation (Watts) by 60%. The integrated system has a 114 GPH solar water pump, a 32 º F thermal electric freezer, a 250 º F solar cooker, a 24 volt 35AH battery bank, a scalable 240W solar panel array, USB ports for charging electronic devices, and a .01 micron water filtration system. Thermigate LLC will minimize the financial barriers for over 1.5 billion subsistence farmers in developing countries to obtain efficient solar energy with minimal capital investments. The PIS will increase agricultural production and reduce drought over rain-fed agriculture three to four fold (300%) using a renewable water irrigation system. Overall, the PIS will improve the economic security of farmers, and will aide in the eradication of poverty and hunger.

It is projected that the world's population will increase by over two billion in the year 2050, with Sub-Saharan Africa having the highest population growth rate to over 2.4 billion in the next 40 years. In order to meet the need of a growing population, 60% more food must be produced. Food security is defined as the opportunity for all individuals to have availability, access, utilization, and stability to nutritious and wholesome foods produced in a sustainable environment . Poverty limits the development of food security due to a lack of market information, poor skill development, projected high risk and low security of income, inadequate credit for investment, a lack of electricity, and a limited water supply . Almost 1.5 billion farmers lack access to clean water and sanitation, and live on less than $2 a day. On average, countries in Sub-Saharan Africa waste 5% GDP, or $28.4 billion annually, on health spending and labor diversion due to poor sanitation and lack of clean water access . There are over 500 million smallholding farmers who feed over 2 billion individuals worldwide. Thermigate's PIS addresses the challenges of a market of almost 2 billion farmers and promotes food security by introducing a creative purchase agreement, and providing solar water irrigation systems for crops and livestock, which will boost agricultural production by 300% and profits by 600%.

Barriers to establishing a solar system and renewable water technology in developing countries include costly engineering assessments, high installation labor cost, the financial burden of buying equipment, lack of appropriate distribution channels, and insufficient business models. Thermigate's innovative technology removes these barriers by manufacturing pre-engineered solar systems that significantly reduces the amount of solar cells needed, thereby lowering setup costs by more than 50%. The integrated Photovoltaic Intensification has an MPPT charge controller, a 5 port USB power hub, a 24 volt 35AH battery bank, a 240W scalable solar polycrystalline array, a 24 volt 100 meter Head lift water pump, a 32 º F 12 cu Feet thermal electric freezer, a 12 cu Feet 250 º F solar cooker for cooking and drying foods, and a .01 micron water filtration system. The system is easily assembled, and has a max capacity of 960W. Additionally, reflectors and solar cell cooling chambers are used to encapsulate added radiant energy. The PIS is self-monitoring, and adjusts automatically using a microprocessor. A prototype has been developed by Thermigate, and successful power intensification has been demonstrated on a solar array in Pennsylvania. The PIS increased the solar energy measured (W/m2) and total solar energy collected (Wh/m2) by over 60% in a 12-hour charge period. The PIS can be used in collaboration with drip irrigation, which is 95% more efficient and hand pumping. The PIS provides farmers with cost-effective solar energy, and promote a secure food network by increasing agricultural production using a renewable water supply. It will also reduce price shock due to food shortages.

Human power for manual water lifting devices such as the bush pump, Keith Hendrick's hand pump, rope and washer pump, and the rower pump will yield a muscular work capacity of about 200-300Wh/person per workday. A person would need to work four days to provide one kWh of work, whereas the PIS would deliver this in four hours. Thus, the PIS provide the equivalent of 12 working men minus the labor salaries. Even though Human powered watering devices have a low capital cost ($10 to $150), the assumed $4.00/kWh energy-wage cost of Human labor is significantly higher than the free source of solar energy for the PIS, making the PIS a more cost-effective system for subsistence farming. Additionally, the limitation of Human power is that people must be paid and fed 365 days of the year, but the typical irrigation season of crops last 200 days out of the year. Using the PIS will lower the demand of Human power, which will allow farmers more time for educational development. Diesel powered watering systems have a capital cost of ($500-$1,500), and the cost of fuel fluctuates ($1.20 to $1.70 per liter) depending on the availability and usage. Diesel pumps have a higher operating cost ($12,525/year at $6.27/kWh) than solar pumps ($335/year at $.66/kWh). Diesel pumps also emit harmful gases into the atmosphere. The solar market is a $39.6 billion industry with projections of exponential growth to $155 billion in 2018. Wattsun Solar, a division of Array Technologies Inc., is a leading supplier of solar trackers and racks. They have effective single axis systems (Wattsun AZ-125) that track the sun, but the initial setup cost ($3,385) without the inclusion of solar hardware (panel, controller, battery bank) is high. Zomeworks commercializes a passive tracking unit (UTRF-090) that is affordable ($1872), and rely on the density of Freon and not electronic sensors. However, they are slow moving, have poor efficiency in the morning hours, and do not come with solar hardware (panel, controller, battery bank). We have a competitive advantage because our product is dual axis, self-monitored, and has fluid filled cooling chambers, and a 5 year service warranty. The PIS targets the 1.5 billion subsistence farmers with income of less than $5,000 USD. We plan to initially implement renewable energy markets in the country of Liberia, where the poor are primarily found in the rural areas (86%), among households engaged in subsistence farming as their main source of livelihood. Our feasibility study concluded that 98% of farmers in Liberia thought that our product would benefit them. We have active field partners such as AFEL to help penetrate the market by providing agricultural training. The monthly average daily solar radiation on horizontal surface in Liberia is between 4.50 to 6.0 kWh/m . The electrification rate for Liberia is 4%, with an energy addressable market of 3,031,292 people. The access to an improved water source for Liberia is 73%, with a water addressable market of 90,881 people.

Our commercial strategy is to initially manufacture the PIS in Liberia, and provide low-cost electrification units with minimal financial investments directly to farmers. We will secure loan agreements with local non-profit non-government organizations (NGOs), as well as provide a two year rent-to-own purchase option with non-profit micro-finance institutions. The low manufacturing cost of $398 will allow us to provide a competitive unit price of $600. Our market strategy includes hiring local assemblers and installers, providing agricultural training, and promoting agricultural trade with big businesses. We plan to build 5,000 units in first year. The product will yield social benefits for the community such as increased profits, better health, and less poverty. The company will be developed with a "customer service and satisfaction first" mentality in an effort to build acceptance and a positive reputation in the local industry.