WHAT IS THE EURO MINE EXPO?
Euro Mine Expo is a mining trade show and conference. It provides a platform for professionals from the mining industry to gather, exchange knowledge, and showcase the latest technologies and innovations in mining.
This year, Easy Hydro will be jointly exhibiting with our partner SAER Elettropompe.
Come and meet us @ stand 258 in the Copper Hall.
SKELLEFTEÅ, SWEDEN 28 – 30 MAY 2024
Our Commercial Director Mike has recently published an article on the UK’s EMA (Energy Managers Association) Magazine issue 2/2023, pages 35-37 which describes a number of pioneering hydropower energy recovery applications that the Easy Hydro team has designed over the last few years. These installations span across several industries (drinking water, hydropower, underground mining, mineral processing) but they all share the same design principle: how to generate electricity from the excess pressure of process water flowing inside existing pipes?
Large businesses are getting good at spotting their waste and minimising it: Reducing it; Recycling it. Yet for many of these, if they are large water users, there may be another waste that they don’t see: the excess water pressure in their pipes…
Mike Pedley
The full article can be read online on the EMA Magazine web page (no registration required) or via the viewer below:
The end of April 2023 marked the successful completion by Easy Hydro of the EIT RawMaterials Accelerator Programme. Over the past three years, the expert support and mentoring received from this EU funded programme has helped transform Easy Hydro from a promising startup to a fully formed hydropower energy recovery business with sales across seven countries and many exciting projects currently in progress.
The team at Easy Hydro would like to thank everyone at EIT RawMaterials for the support they have provided throughout the programme.
With a picture of one of our turbines running under the snow, the Easy Hydro team wishes a great winter break to all our customers, partners and supporters. Several exciting projects are awaiting us in 2023, which will bring along even more CO2 and energy savings to our clients. Stay tuned!
We are glad to announce that Easy Hydro has been selected to continue its journey in the EIT RawMaterials Accelerator Program to the third and last stage.
Our CTO Miguel Crespo attended the kick-off meeting held in Amsterdam during the first week of November, and had a chance to discuss with fellow entrepreneurs and with a variety of experts in different areas how to scale and grow the company. This last phase of the Accelerator will last six months during which we will be able to strengthen different part of the business. Thanks to EIT RawMaterials for trusting Easy Hydro! #ConnectingMatters
Now in its 10th year, the Energy and Mines Toronto Summit is the annual meeting place for senior mining executives to meet with decarbonization, ESG, and renewables experts to discuss solutions and strategies for meeting net zero targets. This year’s expanded agenda reflected the urgency, priority, and complexity that mining companies are facing in trying to identify concrete steps to get to zero-emissions mining in line with ESG and climate commitments.
A delegation from Easy Hydro took part in the event, introducing the attendees to our innovative energy recovery technology which is particularly suitable for a water-intensive industry such as the extractive one.
During the last weeks, our team has been testing a new control system for the operation of our Pumps as Turbines (PATs). As a company build out from many years of research, R&D remains one of our main pillars. In this case, the new control system will offer a more robust solution for our hydropower equipment. Additionally, it will increase the peak efficiency of the system whilst reducing maintenance. It will also enable us to offer a fully integrated cloud monitoring interface, where the operator can visualize and download historical data.
The tests were successfully completed on the laboratory test rig, confirming the technical feasibility of the new control equipment, as well as satisfying all the safety conditions for the right operation of the equipment.
The tested control panel will actually be installed in one of our coming installations soon.
Daniele Novara, CEO of Easy Hydro, has been announced as a finalist in the upcoming EU Sustainable Energy Awards in riferimento alla prima centrale idroelettrica mai installata in una miniera. E' possibile votare online fino al 22 ottobre sulla piattaforma dedicata. Basta un solo click per supportare la candidatura di Daniele:
A soli 40 chilometri a nord di Dublino, Irlanda, una turbina ad acqua posizionata in profondità in una miniera di zinco produce 30 kW di energia pulita grazie a una nuova tecnologia sviluppata da Daniele Novara, 29 anni, e dalla sua start-up Easy Hydro. Such innovative technology has stemmed from Daniele’s work at Trinity College di Dublino and uses modular water pumps to create low-cost, small-scale hydropower stations capable of exploiting untapped energy within existing water pipes.
Our installation at the zinc mine in Ireland is the first-ever hydropower station within an operating underground mine. At this site alone we will see annual savings of 200 MWh, the equivalent of powering roughly 50 households, and an offset of about 60 tonnes of carbon per year,“ explains Daniele. “Our technology is particularly suitable for recovering energy from pipe networks and existing water infrastructure, making it a scalable solution for mining companies looking to green their operations and consume less electricity”.
Durante il dottorato presso il Trinity College di Dublino, Daniele ha sviluppato la tecnologia che sul finire del 2019 lo ha portato a fondare Easy Hydro. Grazie alla collaborazione varie aziende UE e con una società mineraria svedese, e grazie ai finanziamenti del consorzio EIT RawMaterials , nel 2021 Daniele e il suo team sono riusciti a completare l’installazione della prima turbina.
Prior to completing his PhD in Ireland, Daniele obtained a BSc in Italy at Politecnico di Torino and a double MSc degree in Energy Engineering and Management from universities in Poland and Portugal offered by the EIT InnoEnergy consortium. This international outlook has followed Daniele to the business world, where as CEO of Easy Hydro he is already in discussions to replicate the hydropower station with major mining companies in areas such as North America, South Africa and Sweden.
Our goal now is to focus on commercialisation and creating a positive impact in the mining sector at scale,“ says Daniele. “The pilot installation proves that we can produce carbon-free electricity from surplus water pressure in the underground works in a cost-effective way”.
Per questa tecnologia il potenziale è straordinario. La sua diffusione potrebbe generare ogni anno risparmi per oltre 400.000 tonnellate di CO2“, dichiara Daniele. È all’orizzonte l’adozione su vasta scala della tecnologia, e quindi Daniele è ottimista riguardo all’impatto e al contributo della sua azienda per il raggiungimento degli obiettivi dell'UE per il 2030.
I giovani europei in azione per creare l’energia sostenibile del futuro
Daniele Novara è uno dei tre finalisti selezionati per i premi EUSEW (EU Sustainable Energy Week) 2021 nella categoria Young Energy Trailblazer (giovani pionieri nel settore dell’energia). Il riconoscimento va ad attività eccezionali effettuate da giovani (meno di 35 anni) che fanno progredire in Europa la transizione verso fonti di energia pulita e promuovono ambiziosi interventi in materia di clima ed energia.
I premi EUSEW (EU Sustainable Energy Week) sono un riconoscimento a sostenitori di eccellenza degli obiettivi 2030 in materia di clima ed energia
Dodici eccezionali progetti e persone sono messi in rilievo in occasione della settimana europea dell’energia sostenibile (EUSEW) 2021 per il carattere innovativo nel campo dell’efficienza energetica e delle energie rinnovabili. I finalisti sono stati selezionati da un elenco di tutti i progetti di maggior successo realizzati nel corso dell’anno per garantire energia pulita, sicura ed efficiente. I premi sono divisi in quattro categorie – Engagement, Innovation, Woman in Energy e Young Energy Trailblazer (Impegno, Innovazione, Donne e Giovani pionieri) – alle quali si aggiunge il Citizen’s Award (Premio dei cittadini), assegnato a uno dei progetti delle prime due categorie. I premi sono decisi da una giuria di esperti (per le categorie Engagement e Innovation) e da una votazione pubblica dei cittadini, ora aperte. sino al 22 ottobre. I cinque vincitori saranno annunciati lunedì 25 ottobre durante la EUSEW 2021.
EUSEW 2021
La settimana europea dell’energia sostenibile (EUSEW) 2021 si svolge dal 25 al 29 ottobre 2021 e ha come tema ‘Verso il 2030: rimodellare il sistema energetico europeo’. L’evento, che ha luogo prima della decisiva COP 26, riunisce esperti di politica energetica, leader del settore e rappresentanti del mondo accademico e della società civile che dibatteranno le modalità a disposizione di politiche lungimiranti in materia di decarbonizzazione, efficienza energetica, attenuazione del cambiamento climatico e molti altri aspetti come il Green Deal europeo, per contribuire a realizzare un’economia e una società migliori e maggiormente resilienti.
EUSEW 2021 sarà ancora una volta un evento online, con moltissime opportunità in più per partecipare, socializzare, creare contatti e riflettere sulle più importanti problematiche riguardanti l’energia pulita in Europa e nel mondo.
Le iscrizioni per partecipanti e media sono ora aperte.Per richiedere interviste con i finalisti dei premi EUSEW 2021 o per richiedere altre informazioni per la stampa, rivolgersi a media@eusew.eu
CREDITS FOR THE TURBINE INSTALLATION
This activity has received funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union under the Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
Easy Hydro was one of the 12 startups selected for the Phase 1 of the 2021 EIT RawMaterials Accelerator programme, with a focus on further refining our business model and exploring the opportunities given by the market.
Our team will work under the guidance and coaching of the EIT RawMaterials Consortium over the next three months, with the target of stepping up to Phase 2 later in the year.
Press Release
Easy Hydro, a spinout from Trinity College di Dublino, has been awarded a €49,000 Booster grant from the EU consortium EIT RawMaterials to build a pilot energy recovery installation at Tara Mines in Navan. As a part of a collaboration between Easy Hydro and the site owner Boliden, a novel type of water turbine will be commissioned to recover energy from the underground water mains carrying fresh water down the mine.
It has been decided to place the Easy Hydro turbine in parallel to an existing pressure reducing station on a DN150 pipeline carrying clean water from the surface.
With an average flow rate of 22 l/s and a pressure drop of 21 bar, the turbine will output up to 30 kW of clean renewable energy resulting in yearly savings of over 200 MWh of electricity otherwise imported from the grid. Such amount of energy corresponds to the annual consumption of nearly 50 average Irish households.
The proposed installation will directly offset over 60 tons of CO2 per year, and such technology if replicated over a number of other similar locations within the same mine has the potential to significantly reduce the current carbon footprint of Tara Mines.
Besides, the expected payback time of the installation is between 2 and 3 years and considering an equipment life of 25 years the generated energy will feature an extremely low Levelized Cost Of Electricity (LCOE).
This work is highly relevant to our wider sustainability agenda and compatible with the underground mining operations carried out by Boliden Tara Mines
Paschal Walsh, Boliden’s Environmental, Health, Safety & Energy Manager
This project in collaboration with Boliden e EIT RawMaterials is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the applicability of the unique Easy Hydro energy recovery technology in the mining sector
Daniele Novara, Easy Hydro’s Managing Director
Small-scale and modular hydropower turbines which can be installed along existing pipe networks. Such turbines can be placed in a bypass of an existing valve, e.g. pressure reducing valves, control valves, tank inflow regulation valves. The turbine can thus transform the dissipated pressure into usable electricity, with power outputs ranging from a few kilowatts up to hundreds of kilowatts.
The type of turbine adopted is reliable and widely tested and consists of standard pumps running in reverse as turbines (PAT – Pumps As Turbines) which only cost a fraction of a conventional custom-made hydro turbine.
Italiano 
English 
Español