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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - CUBE (New approach to decentralized production of electricity, water supply and Internet connection, in full autonomy and off-grid)

Teaser

Summary

The reliable access to clean water, electricity and to the Internet altogether is a prerequisite to social and economic development. There is no perspective of growth without these resources. And yet, this is the case for two billion people today, who live in isolated areas, regions damaged by war or a natural disaster or suffering from poor infrastructure. Despite a strong commitment, the actions of public organizations and NGOs remain limited: the access to water and electricity off-grid remains complex and very costly. It takes at least a full year for areas in need to get the proper infrastructure.

In this context, the company ZEST, specialized in the production of off-grid energy fluids (power, water, connectivity) has developed a disruptive concept named CUBE.
CUBE refers to an autonomous and plug-and-play solar-powered system, able to create supply points in electricity, clean water and internet in IoT cubes of 585 x 585 x 585 mm.
The cubes combine inverting technologies to produce and store electricity (230V), filtering systems (reverse osmosis and UV lamp) to supply clean water and several connection types (4G/ 3G, edge and satellite connection) to link the cubes to an IoT platform, where big data are processed. Real-time analysis will deliver smart guidance and tailored training for low energy consumption by the users.

Work performed

During the 6 months of the Phase 1 SME Instrument project, the main objectives of the have been to:
- validate the CUBE technology for subsequent scale-up and industrialization in an SME Instrument Phase 2 project. At this purpose, the Phase 1 project aimed to validate the feasibility of the technological components of the solution including the electronics and the artificial intelligence (AI) components in the cubes
- the capacity to watch and monitor the cubes via a platform accessible 24/7
- validate the feasibility of ZEST factories using energy and water-generating cubes through development and field experimentations in various representative use cases. In particular, tests have been made in areas, where the need for water and energy supply was high (field experimentations in Africa and Europe atop mountains).
- analyze and validate the best business models for the targeted markets: product-oriented in developed countries and focusing on capacity-building through ZEST factories in developing countries.

Final results

With a lifespan of about a decade, the cubes have the potential to make any building, housing or operation site (e.g., construction sites) autonomous. They also can create circular economy wherever in use. It is both a transformative technology and a disruptive societal innovation going way beyond the state-of-the-art.