While alternative energy is slowly emerging, its problems and limitations are also revealed. It used to be that the alternative energy badge outweighed the disadvantages, as going green was more important than the efficiency of “dirty” energy.
Experts are starting to compare all the characteristics of both forms of energy, the ones derived from fossil fuels and the alternative ones, especially wind energy, photovoltaics, and hydropower plants.
One of the critical problems of these three forms is dependence on nature. Windmills can work well only with the right amount of wind, which often occurs in the form of gusts. Many times, however, it is insufficient for efficient operation.Photovoltaics is highly dependent on the number of sunshine hours. Hydroelectric power plants depend entirely on river water levels, which must be neither too low nor too high.
In addition to the dubious latest hit, nuclear energy, there is another solution: generating electricity from waste wood biomass.
The first advantage of technology is a bigger number of working hours, not conditioned by the weather. With an expected operation of 8,100 hours a year, they operate seven times more than photovoltaics, four times more than wind energy, and twice the operating hours of hydropower plants.
At the same time, the electricity is stable and does not create spikes or jerky fluctuations, as is the case with the other listed technologies.
However, producing electricity from biomass is not ideal either, as the efficiency of the average factory is at the limit of profitability. European entrepreneur Roberto Hroval offers a solution to this global problem and seemingly unsolvable Gordian knot. His innovative solution comes in the form of the Themis Ecosystem (TE) business environment.
Biomass Ultima Plant as a Themis Ecosystem’s Driver
In a complex system that combines tangible and digital elements, so-called drivers play a leading role. Drivers are innovative but proven technologies that solve the world’s most pressing problems.
One of the drivers is Biomass Ultima, a newly designed plant for processing wood biomass. The technology is full of innovations and is considered the most advanced and efficient biomass technology worldwide. The factory is located in Slovenia, Europe, and is currently the only one of its kind.
After seven major innovations, the production process took on an entirely new form. With extensive filtering, separating, and cleaning of substances that would otherwise end up as waste, the production acquired four new byproducts.
While conventional biomass factories only generate electricity and heat, the Biomass Ultima factory (BUF) produces, in addition to green electricity, organic wood vinegar, organic tar, organic carbon, and organic fertilizer.
“Our key advantage lies in greater efficiency, a better approach to the market, a specific way of marketing, and greater CO2 emission reduction. As a result, we produce much higher added value per factory,” explained the founder.
However, the optimization doesn’t end there. With excess energy, the factory powers another, external Green Vertical Farming (GVF) module, which produces high-quality food in a separate facility.
For a more detailed explanation and analysis of the efficiency of the technology, we will use a special info board already wall-mounted in the factory. It summarizes the processes’ key characteristics and reveals the technology’s advantages and benefits. It also acts as a seal of quality and approval by Themis Ecosystem.
Explaining the Driver’s Info Board
Each driver earns its own info board, which is placed in a visible place in the facility. The info board can only be mounted after the driver is accepted into the Themis Ecosystem (TE) and adopts the required standards that are way above the general industry requirements.
Implementing TE standards alone gives the technology acompetitive advantage, as the end products are also of above-average quality, and the processes are highly optimized.
Let’s look at the markings on the driver’s info board.
The top row announces the primary technology used in the factory–Biomass Ultima technology, ensuring above-average utilization of wood biomass. Since BUF is a showroom model for all others that will be built according to the same model, Biomass Ultima is also the name of the factory.
In a second raw is the inscription Age Lab Europe, which represents the umbrella group under which the factory operates. Its status is laboratory and R&D. As a result, BUF also belongs to the R&D category.
To the right of this inscription is the designation of origin, which guarantees the quality of technology, certification, compliance with legislation, etc. In the case of BUF, it is Switzerland (Swiss Innovative Technology).
The info board’s middle part highlights the driver’s three main characteristics. The label on the left (Zero emissions) indicates that the factory operates without air and ground emissions. The central label, Green Electric Power, announces that the main product, electricity, belongs to the category of green fuel.
The label on the right, CO2 reducing, announces that the technology works far above environmental standards. CO2-negative production also brings additional income to the factory, thanks to the CO2 coupon approach. Besides, surplus energy that powers the GVF module is also counted in CO2 reduction since green farming is a CO2-negative process.
The line below is reserved for byproducts that the technologycreates. On the left is Green Vertical Farming (GVF), followedby organic carbon with a black badge, organic vinegar with a red badge, and organic tar with a yellow badge.
At the bottom of the info board are two very important fields. The left one announces that the driver is part of the Themis Ecosystem, ensuring that the technology includes proven modular solutions for optimizing processes, products, and conditions for higher-added value.
The right side of the bottom line shows that the driver also meets the conditions for placement on the Online Industrial Exchange (OIX). One of the conditions for becoming a part of the TE group is the commitment to digitizing the final products into special e-vouchers IRMU (Industrial RawMaterial Unit). This move gives the project a whole new dimension.
The buyer of IRMUs owns a fraction of all the products the driver creates, combined with a proportional part of the CO2 reduction. Namely, each IRMU consists of two parts: the proportional part of the final products and the proportional part of CO2 reduction.
Why JOR-Branded Products Will Sell at a Higher Price
JOR brand is not only a prestigious designation but also ensures a higher purchase price for the products. All products under the JOR brand will be developed in the best possible way since an identical product can be sold in different price ranges depending on its application.
To be placed in a higher price class, the BUF byproducts need additional certificates, safety data sheets, laboratory results, proof of effectiveness, etc. Consequently, the price of the product can rise two to ten times.
For example, if a company were to sell organic tar for general use, it would sell for €1,500/ton. However, different, more specialized applications are valued at much higher prices. If organic tar is used for the impregnation of wood or protection of forest trees, its price can rise to US $69.00 (€63.40) for three liters, which is around €20,000/ton.
The same applies to other JOR products. Wood vinegar can be bought for €4.50/liter if it has no specialized use or is used as a substitute for pesticides or to adjust the pH value of the soil.However, it can also be used for replacement of the antibiotics in silos, preventing the formation of Salmonella. In this case, its price rises to €10 per liter.
The story repeats for organic carbon, whose price without a brand and specialized use amounts to €700/ton. In contrast,when used for particular purposes, with certificates, safety data sheets, etc., the price rises to €3,140 per ton.
The abovementioned numbers can be achieved if a specialized and trained team takes over the project–which Themis Ecosystem certainly will have. “We plan to establish a specialized company that will deal exclusively with boosting products’ value, market development, finding specialized buyers, providing safety data sheets, required certificates, cooperating with universities for research purposes, etc. This approach will greatly increase the project’s revenue,” said Roberto Hroval.
TE Regulation Is Boosting Revenue
What do all these improvements mean for BUF? The data we received from the company shows the real value Themis Ecosystem’s driver is optimized to and technologically capable of achieving.
The annual production of organic wood vinegar will amount to around 500,000 liters. Its lowest price on the market is €4.50/liter. The actual market value of JOR wood vinegar, including innovative approaches to sales, is at least €10 per liter. On an annual basis, wood vinegar would contribute up to €5,000,000 to the company’s turnover.
The price for organic tar is €1,500 per ton, while the optimized value of BUF organic tar amounts up to €20,000 per ton. An annual production of two hundred tons brings up to €4,000,000 in revenue.
For organic carbon, the calculation is as follows. Instead of selling an annual production of 700 tons for €700/ton, the product could reach a price of €3,140 per ton, which amounts to €2,200,000.
Regarding making high-added value with the main product, green electricity, Hroval and his team have another out-of-the-box idea. Instead of optimizing electricity production, they switch to lab-grown diamonds under the Zeta Quantum Diamonds brand, increasing turnover even more.
This procedure will not be used from the beginning but after six months of operation. Until then, the factory will produce green electricity. Nevertheless, the revenue increase due to the switch from electricity to diamonds is enormous. Instead of the 350,000 Euros that the factory could have generated annually by producing electricity, producing 100 carats of diamonds/month (1,200 carats annually), worth 2,500,000 Euros, will generate about seven times the revenue.
To sum up, the biomass technology not included in Themis Ecosystem can generate €350,000 in annual turnover. If the factory becomes Themis Ecosystem’s driver, its turnover can potentially go up to €11,200,000 with electricity production or even to €13,700,000 with a diamond-producing strategy.
Up to 10x the Revenue
These advantages–and more–the technology gets only as a Themis Ecosystem driver. All the drivers will be optimized according to a similar principle. Clones of the Biomass Ultima factory will be optimized for the highest productivity and maximal return on investment, considering exceeding the highest environmental and other standards.
The founder summed up the advantages of TE with the following sentences: “If there was a high-quality, competitive technology, it could achieve an annual turnover of maybe €500,000 with electricity production. Our driver brings much more, thanks to additional products and many innovations.”
It is evident that after all optimizations, TE regulations, and standards, the products can reach higher market values, with even 10x the turnover compared to competitive-qualitytechnology.
Each element in Themis Ecosystem has its well-thought-out place and optimized role. Diamonds create the system’s robustness, while the rest of the products return to nature in pristine form.
The introduction of natural solutions in agriculture is the latest worldwide trend that will continue for decades. Not only is Themis Ecosystem ready for these challenges, but it is poised to lead the trend.
