© Daniel R. Blume
© Daniel R. Blume

Water-powered engine wins H2020 funding

Irish SME Exergyn has been awarded €2.48m in Horizon 2020 funding for the commercialisation of an engine that converts waste hot water into electricity.

Hot water, as a waste product created during the cooling process of manufacturing, is utilised by the Exergyn Drive engine to create electricity. The engine has undergone trials and the company, founded in 2012 by entrepreneurs Alan Healy, Barry Cullen and Kevin O’Toole, now targets the bio-gas and power generation industries for commercial prospects.

Healy said: “This funding is crucial to our ability to move our technology forward and commercialise it — so the whole world can begin to make use of the vast amounts of low-grade waste heat produced each year.

“I would recommend other SMEs — if they have confirmed that their business/project is the kind that fits the Horizon 2020 mould — to apply. Ireland has an active start-up/early-stage company community and the EU funding is well-known to people in this community.”

Exergyn estimates that the commercialisation of the Exergyn Drive engine, and the exposure to its full potential, could help to mitigate global carbon emissions by as much as 2pc.

The €2.48m in funding has been awarded from the EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020’s SME Instrument. Exergyn is the first Irish SME to have gained funding of this magnitude under Phase 2 of the programme.