Jane Borromeo, BASc., P.Eng, (Ret,) Section Manager, Environment, Ontario Power Generation - November 6, 2022:
- Even clean energy sources still have impacts on the environment
- Pickering Nuclear plant kills 3 times as many fish as Darlington
- Environmental impacts can be offset in a variety of ways,
such as replenishing fish stock and planting trees
Marco Filice, LL.B., MBA, Senior Vice President, Liberty Development Corporation - November 9, 2022:
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There are an average of 4 people per household in Ontario
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30,000 apartments built a year
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10,000 new houses built a year
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Apartments are more efficient because they take up less space
and are higher density
- 250,000 immigrants to the GTA each year
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Thermal-sensor lights are too expensive to be feasible
Jason Vallis, B.Eng., M.Eng., E.MBA, Vice President of External Relations, Planetary Technologies, Inc. - November 6, 2022 & November 27, 2022:
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Carbon removal is a practical way of decarbonizing in the industrial
sector and it can achieve 14% emission reductions needed by 2050
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Carbon can be removed from the atmosphere by adding magnesium hydroxide,
which forms carbonates, trapping CO2
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Protecting the environment is of the highest importance, and, therefore,
generating clean energy is a high priority
Niss Feiner, C.Tech., CHD, RASDT, RHDT, RVDT - Principal, Certified HVAC Designer, Professor, Delta-T Designs - November 18, 2022:
- Harvesting energy from waste heat is a great idea! The industry is working to acomplish this
- Current building code says furnaces must be 95% to 98% efficient
- Flue gasses have many negative impacts on human health as they contain
carbon monoxide
- The greater the delta-t, the greater the voltage output
- Furnaces convert chemical energy from natural gas into thermal energy
- We can increase the output amperage by wiring some of the TEG modules
in a combination of series and parallel
- CPVC pipe system 636 is used for gas appliance venting
- It is great to position Z-pipe on outside exhaust pipe to avoid risk
of flue gases leaking from pipe
- Need a Delta-T of 50 degrees
- Fortunately, outside air is colder in the winter
- Ideal for colder countries like Canada
Dan Boyd, RASDT, RHDT, RVDT Certified Energy Advisor - November 23, 2022
- Serves as home energy advisor to increase energy efficiency in buildings
- As a next step, we could use a square metal pipe with higher thermal conduction and
square-to-rounds with good, solid connection to decrease likelihood of flue gas
leakage by avoiding the need to penetrate the pipe
- under the building code, we can use metal to exhaust, but not
inside a wood frame structure
- We could measure the back pressure exerted on the furnace by the Z-Pipe using a monometer
- We could use our device to charge a lithium-ion battery for other uses
- Saftey around waste gases is very important
- The fact that the Z-pipe is positioned outside the house make it safer
- The Z-pipe can be wired inside
- Since it is low voltage, there is no need for a licenced electrician and
the furnace service tradespeople can install it
- Can have one penetration through the wall to an outlet
- USB-powered device need 5 volts. we can scale the Z-pipe
up by adding TEGs to get the necessary voltage
Youssef Aroub, M.Sc, M.B.A., B.Sc, Project Manager, Boston Consulting Group - January 6, 2023
Profile
- Background in materials science (composites)
- Masters at MIT in Robotics
- Undergraduate degree in Engineering
- Worked on how to automate package sorting
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Used to work on computer vision (AI)
- e.g. Automating robot sorting, self-driving cars
- Works on how can Canada reach NET 0
- Helps companies research the business side
- Creates articles/papers on certain topics
- Project Leader and member of the Climate & Sustainability and Industrial Goods practises at Boston Consulting Group Toronto
- Has worked with clients in the mining and paper industries
- Interested in regenerative agriculture, Canadian climate tech, and industrial decarbonization
- Interested in math and physics
- Worked in R&D for Boeing
Discusion Points:
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For financial projections:
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Addressable Market = the market you are selling to
- e.g. for electric cars, everyone that drives
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Pivot number / Actual Market for a Specific Product = the percentage of the total addressable market you can sell to
- e.g. for electric cars, cars sold each year to people who are environmentally conscious
- 2% is the lowest percent of the total addressable Canadian market that is acceptably profitable
- 4% is probably the most appropriate percentage of the total addressable Canadian market for us to use
- We can use a break even analysis to triangulate what percentage to use
- “The market for this is very large, in that it includes only Canada. It is a huge opportunity!”
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Who did we send the survey to?
- We have surveyed adult business contacts and adult friends and family
- “There is a lot of cushion embedded in the forecast because your variable cost to manufacture is only about $50/unit”
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Z-Pipe Value Proposition:
- Environmental reasons (lower carbon footprint)
- It’s the right thing to do
- Raise awareness
- Saving the planet for the next generation
- Save the wildlife
- Would encourage investment and portray companies that use the Z-Pipe as being socially responsible
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Other Applications for Z-Pipe:
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Could Z-Pipe be adapted for other uses like a hot water heater?
- We haven’t fully explored attaching a TEG module to a hot water heater
- We are going to a 190-unit residential apartment boiler room with multiple domestic and condensing hot water heaters that has many sources of waste heat
- We are going to investigate other applications of the Z-Pipe
- For apartments, offices, and homes
- Sell to companies as a method of reducing emissions
- Strength of Z-Pipe (resistant to wind, snow, etc.)
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Climate Tech
- Most companies have targets for minimising water, gas, and electricity consumption to reduce utility costs and environmental footprint
- Canada emits 730 megatonnes of CO2 each year