A breakthrough in photovoltaics. No more fees and giving away surpluses

• The amount of energy generated by photovoltaics in Poland is still growing. It increasingly turns out that there is too much of it. Owners of installations must therefore return its surplus to the grid for a fee.
• There is a solution to this problem. EkoPowerBOX technology is a type of catalyst that allows for the safe storage of excess solar energy in uncompressed hydrogen, and then its use at any time.
• - The introduction of our solution has the potential to transform the energy market - said the president of CBRTP, Grzegorz Putynkowski.

As reported by the WNP.pl portal , engineers from the Center for Research and Development of Technologies for Industry (CBRTP) and the founders of the NGCH start-up have built an innovative EkoPowerBOX system (a type of catalyst), which, in combination with an electrolyzer producing hydrogen and oxygen from water, will allow owners of photovoltaics to store the surplus energy generated from solar radiation in uncompressed hydrogen.

According to the president of CBRTP Grzegorz Putynkowski, introducing this solution to the market has the potential to transform the energy market. He assured that it is completely safe and can be an interesting option for photovoltaic installations from 1kW.

As we read in WNP.pl, the developed innovative technology allows for the generation of heat at a temperature of up to 130 degrees Celsius from an air stream that contains only 4 percent hydrogen.

This amount of hydrogen is completely safe and non-explosive, therefore, the installation of the system in households will not require the owners of EkoPowerBOX to obtain any permits or technical approvals.

- the president pointed out, adding that the system can be installed in both single-family and multi-family homes, as well as in small businesses that are not able to use all the energy generated from photovoltaics.

According to Grzegorz Putynkowski, the system enables the storage of excess energy produced in such installations without incurring additional fees for sending the surplus to the Distribution System Operator’s network .

In this way, this energy can be used later at any time, e.g. as an alternative source of heat energy or a lower source improving the efficiency of heat pumps.

The authors of the project also indicated that EkoPowerBOX may be an interesting option for:

• recipients without technical conditions for the construction of a gas network,
• where there are limited power possibilities for electrical energy consumption.

The CEO admitted that the solution is at a fairly early stage of implementation, but he also noted that the technology components are already ready. Investors are currently being sought to introduce the system to the market and launch serial production.

The WNP.PL portal reported unofficially that talks on this subject are being held, among others, with one of the state-owned companies.

A maximum of one year is enough to prepare the full process and implementation documentation of the project. Adding the construction of the production plant and the launch of production for approx. PLN 80 million, we get a total of 24-30 months

- Grzegorz Putynkowski calculated.

According to estimates , the device should be available for the price of a gas furnace, i.e. in the range of PLN 12-16 thousand. However, CBRTP intends to convince households to implement the option of renting such devices. According to the president, the investor could benefit from fees for the energy produced, which the recipient will consume for their own needs.