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ABOUT
THE EDF
PULSE AWARDS
As the first worldwide electricity company, the EDF Group innovates in its different divisions to produce low carbon electricity and allow customers to consume better while consuming less.
Every day,
their teams are working to advance new products and to create practical applications in partnership with the academic and business world.
With the EDF Pulse Awards, the Group’s ambition is to highlight and reward the projects of young, talented entrepreneurs who innovate to help society progress.
These awards are intended for startups or European SMEs who develop projects in one of
three categories:
SMART
HOME - Smart home: for innovations leading the way to a home that is safer, more comfortable, self sufficient and energy efficient as well offering customized services for today's way of
life.
E
HEALTH - E-health: for innovations improving health and the autonomy of dependent individuals with a special focus on new smart medicine technologies, smart healthcare services, healthcare robotics and quantified self.
LOW
CARBON CITIES - Low carbon city: for innovations promoting energy efficiency across towns and cities and reduced carbon footprint as well as the growth of electric-powered urban transport, the smart city, "low carbon" city services and smart grids.
In June 2016, EDF will reward a prize in each category. The 3 winners will all receive a grant of €100k and will benefit from a communication campaign in France and Europe.
All candidate projects will be presented on the website pulse.edf.com.
Candidate projects will be advised by a selection committee made up of experts in innovation and communication, as well as specialists in each category.
A dozen nominees will be invited to present their project in front of a jury of personalities from the world of science, innovation and entrepreneurship. They will benefit from support by EDF regarding their communication and image.
The 6 finalists will benefit from a voting campaign which will allow them to increase their notoriety. This is important because more than 120,000 voters expressed their views in the 2015 edition of the awards.
Premier électricien mondial, le groupe EDF innove dans ses différents métiers pour produire une électricité peu carbonée et permettre aux clients de consommer mieux, de consommer moins. Tous les jours, ses équipes œuvrent à l'anticipation des nouveaux usages et à la création d'applications concrètes, en partenariat avec le monde universitaire et entrepreneurial.
Avec les Prix EDF Pulse, l'ambition du Groupe est de mettre en lumière et de récompenser les projets de jeunes entrepreneurs talentueux qui innovent pour faire progresser la société.
Ce site de candidature est destiné aux startups ou PME européennes développant des projets dans les catégories :
SMART
HOME
E
HEALTH
LOW
CARBON CITIES
En juin 2016, EDF décernera un prix dans chaque catégorie. Les 3 lauréats recevront chacun une dotation de 100k€ et bénéficieront d'une campagne de communication en France et en Europe.
Tous les projets candidats seront présentés sur le site pulse.edf.com.
Les projets candidats seront instruits par un comité de sélection réunissant des experts en innovation, en communication et des spécialistes de chaque catégorie.
Une douzaine de nominés seront invités à présenter leur projet devant un jury de personnalités issues du monde de la science, de l’entreprenariat et de l’innovation. Ils bénéficieront d’un accompagnement d’EDF autour de leur communication et de leur image.
Les 6 finalistes retenus bénéficieront d’une campagne d’appel au vote leur permettant d’accroitre leur notoriété : lors de l’édition 2015, plus de 120000 votants se sont exprimés !
171
PULSE AWARD ENTRIES
There
were 74 entries in the Low Carbon, 42 in Smart Home and 55 projects in the
E Health category, making 171 entries in total. All on the entries appear
to be to a very high standard.
ECOSTAR
- Ecostar, la batterie facile à charger - Ecostar est une voiture électrique avec un mécanisme de cartouches d’énergie en ravitaillement. L’échange des cartouches ne nécessite aucune aide et prend moins d’une minute. Les cartouches sont consignées et se rechargent à l’infini, comme les bouteilles de gaz actuellement. Le système Ecostar peut être installé sur un véhicule existant.
ECOSTAR
PROJECT APPLICATION
NOTES - GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The
Ecostar is an electric car with a built in cartridge loading mechanism so that it is self supporting when changing between cartridges when refueling. The cartridge is of a size and shape to be compatible with battery and fuel cell technology. Exchanges takes less than a minute to complete.
The energy cartridges are designed to work with a roadside service that takes in spent cartridges and provides freshly charged ones. This system needs cars with a compatible self-serve mechanism, so that when working in combination renewable or generated energy may be stored for a transport network.
No other electric vehicle has built in energy cartridge loaders. The system is a low profile development of patent GB2253379 now expired. Unlike the
Better Place and
Tesla electric vehicles with cartridges, this format does not require expensive service stations to operate the cars between exchanges, just a flat area near a supermarket, fast food outlet or other retailer who is prepared to stock cartridges on an exchange basis. The system is ideal to kick-start the concept of energy cartridges.
Cars with energy cartridges are future proofed in that they can change between battery types and/or fuel cell variations. As energy storage improves, the cars mechanicals remain the same, allowing vehicle producers and energy companies to concentrate on design and installing energy storage depots.
How does your project bring progress to society?
Europe in particular is looking for a Circular Economy that is energy sustainable and
zero
carbon. At the moment transport is dependent on oil because it provides transportable high energy storage for vehicles. If implemented, the Ecostar cartridge exchange system, coupled with low cost energy storage depots, could offer a long sought transport solution. The benefits to society can be enormous in
eliminating airborne pollution in cities in particular.
Describe your client target, give an estimation of the size of the concerned market and indicate your strategy to address?
Initially we will target private buyers to convert existing cars to our energy cartridge system. We will attend shows and give demonstrations in the hope of interesting car makers, when they will be offered a manufacturing licence, or a licence to produce a prototype, or show car, with full technical support from our team.
Describe your business model?
We do not aim to mass produce cars ourselves. We intend demonstrating the advantages of the system such that non-inclusion in future vehicles makes sense. Once we have a few prototypes being evaluated, we intend building a low cost flat-pack or pre-fabricated service depot, working with energy companies to produce a specification that will suit as many countries as possible.
Who are your competitors and what makes your product or service different?
When it comes to cartridge exchange, one competitor no longer exists: Better Place, because, as we have described above they did not address the problems identified, being energy storage advances and low cost service facilities. The other competitor, Tesla, is going down the same route to market as Better Place. Concerning typical EVs that recharge batteries at home and at fast charge outlets, our system allows that, but also allows near instant cartridge exchanges when that facility is available. Fast charging harms battery life, giving a cartridge exchange system more time to charge, and so extending battery life.
What is your vision for the project in 5 years?
Within five years it should be possible to persuade car makers to adopt the concept. By having flat pack service stations available on a franchise basis, vehicle producers will feel more confident in adapting their existing designs to a future proofed cartridge system.
If we win an award we plan to file an improvement patent to allow us grant licences to interested vehicle manufacturers and energy supply companies. We are looking for an energy company who wishes to explore a storage strategy based on energy cartridges for electric vehicles.
The concept was proven with the conversion of a Rover
Metro road car to a cartridge system, that has now been converted to a city sports car that we call the Ecostar DC50.
Commercialisation target: 6 - 12 months
Views
from the rear, on the left with gull wing doors closed, and open.
Views
from the front of the car with the gull wing doors closed and open.
Foam blocks are carved by
hand and eye to achieve a near perfect
shape. This technique is suitable for one
off prototypes only. CAD-CAM machine cut foam might be better for
production machines.
ECOSTAR
DC50 LINKS A-Z INDEX
CANADA
- Tidal turbines to be installed off the coast of Canada by Irish company OpenHydro could provide 1,000 people with power from sea currents. This technology is also being tested by EDF in France.
Two turbines 16 metres in diameter will soon be churning up the waters in the bay of
Fundy, Nova Scotia (Canada), and turning it into electricity. Irish company
OpenHydro, which is partnering EDF in the installation of the world's first tidal turbine off the island of Bréhat (Brittany/ France), won a new market on the other side of the Atlantic in late March 2014. With a capacity of four megawatts, this pilot tidal turbine farm powered by sea currents
was to be connected to the electricity grid in 2015.
Stimulating the competitiveness of Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) industry and bringing these technologies to maturity requires support to ensure that France is the European leader for marine energy.
The 10 projects selected as part of the future investment programme constitute the first wave of initiatives supported by the call for MRE projects initiated by the French National Research Agency (ANR). Conducted in close coordination with France Energies Marines (FEM, the aim is to develop and validate innovative, reliable, robust and competitive technological solutions.
LINKS
& REFERENCE
Facebook_EDF
Twitter_EDFpulse
Pulse.edf.com/en/le-canada-veut-exploiter-la-puissance-de-la-mer
Pulse
edf awards projects low carbon city
Pulse
EDF French Ecostar la batterie facile a charger
pulse
edf English ecostar the easy to charge battery
https://www.facebook.com/edf
https://twitter.com/EDFpulse
http://pulse.edf.com/en/le-canada-veut-exploiter-la-puissance-de-la-mer
http://pulse.edf.com/en/edf-pulse-award/the-projects/step-1?tag=low-carbon-city
http://pulse.edf.com/fr/ecostar-la-batterie-facile-a-charger
http://pulse.edf.com/en/ecostar-the-easy-to-charge-battery
Contact Technical:
bluebird@bluebird-electric.net
or phone UK: 
+44
(0) 1323 831727
Ask
for Terry
Intelligent
Battery Support System
THE
BLUE BIRDS OF HAPPINESS
ECOSTAR
LINKS A-Z
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