Larkfleet’s Solar Steam technology is moving from the research phase into commercial development.
In Mexico, Larkfleet has built and tested a pre-commercial demonstrator in collaboration with academic and industrial partners there and with the support of Queen Mary University of London. This is now proven and patented technology and Larkfleet is aiming to sign a manufacturing and licence agreement with a Mexican company which will produce the units in volume for the South American market.
Later this year, in a further phase of R&D, the partners will be adding an ‘absorption chiller’ to the unit to show how it can be adapted to provide the thermal energy for large-scale cooling plants.
Solar Steam elsewhere in the world
In India Larkfleet has been working in partnership with Cranfield University and an Indian solar solutions manufacturer to build a modular containerised version of the Solar Steam system. This is designed to deliver renewable heat and thermal energy in remote areas of rural India.
The whole system packs into a standard 12-metre shipping container and, when on-site, it opens out like a flower.
Larkfleet is currently negotiating an agreement for large-scale manufacture of these containerised plants with the possible first use being to provide a group of Indian villages with drinkable water by treating saline water from local wells. The system will also provide the villages with 9-volt electrical power for lighting, communications and computing.
Meanwhile, Larkfleet is negotiating a contract with Richfield Engineering in Kenya under which the company will manufacture the two variations of Solar Steam plants not just for Africa, but also for the Middle East, South East Asia and India where it has offices.
The market for Solar Steam
There is great deal of interest in the containerised Solar Steam system because it is totally off-grid and does not need any external energy source. It is therefore ideal to sustain communities in disaster relief areas.
Larkfleet is also aiming at the ever-growing demand for reliable thermal energy for steam, hot water and cooling used in processes for the agricultural sector.
The greatest increase in demand for food, energy and water is in the ‘sun belt’ regions of the world which have the largest populations. Many ‘third world’ food growers and processors are hampered by the lack of a reliable grid connection to run refrigeration plants and must rely on expensive on-site generation using fossil fuels.
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