I was one of ten presenters to the full SVIEF conference (chosen from a pool of 200 applicants). Al Gore and Steve Wozniak were headliner speakers. I spoke about elpipes (primarily) and HVDC Ballistic Breakers (somewhat) as enabling technologies for a supergrid (Electric Pipeline Corporation).
Here is my presentation. I will post a video when I receive it from the conference organizers.
I had a spirited exchange with the judges; at one point I cut one of them off who was blathering on with way out of date information on the Tesla/Edison "War of the Currents" that has not been true since 1960!
In this talk, I spoke from the heart about something I care a lot about. And unlike in the US, the Chinese are not averse to big, world-changing technologies. I am hoping they decide to do it, and that I get to be a part of it. In fact I'd like to lead the development team. As in the US, though, the government must lead on something this big.
Here is my presentation. I will post a video when I receive it from the conference organizers.
I had a spirited exchange with the judges; at one point I cut one of them off who was blathering on with way out of date information on the Tesla/Edison "War of the Currents" that has not been true since 1960!
EPC also got a free booth at SVIEF 2013; In the picture below, that is me (Roger Faulkner) on the right, my Dr. Imayavaramban Munuswamy on the left, and Bryan Steele of USgrid.us (who came to help out) in the middle.
The SVIEF 2013 occurred November 2 in Santa Clara. I got my booth for free (I won it) and I just learned October 29 that I'd be one of 10 entrepreneurs to present to the whole conference.
There is a backstory to this. Since I was a teenager, I have thought about underground electric pipelines; I got the basic idea of a supergrid from R. Buckminster Fuller when I was a teenager, and I thought of elpipes then, more than 30 years ago. When I studied physics I learned how to calculate the mass of the conductor needed. A lot more conductor is used in an elpipe than a set of overhead lines (from 3-18 times more than equal capacity overhead lines), but not more volume of conductor than will fit comfortably inside a typical gas pipeline. My invention is a high voltage current carrying train, in which the cars of the train are rigid bus pipes, linked through flexible couplings much like rail cars. The track is the inside surface of the pipeline which is just like a gas pipeline with no elbows or tight bends.
The SVIEF 2013 occurred November 2 in Santa Clara. I got my booth for free (I won it) and I just learned October 29 that I'd be one of 10 entrepreneurs to present to the whole conference.
This quote puts the HVDC opportunity in perspective:
> If every system that has been announced for commissioning between now and 2020 is actually built, the cumulative global capital requirements for HVDC systems would be around $217 billion, according to Navigant Research.
Of the officially announced HVDC budgets and schedules, Navigant reckons only about half will be built, leading it to conclude in a 2012 report that there is an 80 per cent probability that the cumulative spending for HVDC systems between 2012 and 2020 will range between $110 billion and $120 billion.
I have something really new, but made up of well-proven pieces. Because of that, elpipes can be developed and implemented quickly. They are patent pending in China, US, EU, India, Canada, and Malaysia. I need to find investment to complete the patent process, and that creates an opportunity for a relatively small investment to create a very valuable position.
Elpipes are
important
enablers of a supergrid, and a supergrid is the fastest feasible way to decarbonize the Chinese economy. We in the West have lost our taste for big technology solutions; this is now the mantle for China to take forward. I am working with a group that sponsored the "World Culture Forum" in Taihu; I do not understand Chinese politics, but I do know that two politburo members with strong environmental credentials were behind the World Culture Forum, and are now evaluating my proposal
to move China towards a supergrid
. It is vital for the world that China leads in the development of a Eurasian Supergrid.
The construction of a Eurasian supergrid will logically start either in China, India,
or
the EU. Among all the entities in the world I can think of to develop elpipes, I have no doubt that it c
an
be accomplished fastest in China. There is a backstory to this. Since I was a teenager, I have thought about underground electric pipelines; I got the basic idea of a supergrid from R. Buckminster Fuller when I was a teenager, and I thought of elpipes then, more than 30 years ago. When I studied physics I learned how to calculate the mass of the conductor needed. A lot more conductor is used in an elpipe than a set of overhead lines (from 3-18 times more than equal capacity overhead lines), but not more volume of conductor than will fit comfortably inside a typical gas pipeline. My invention is a high voltage current carrying train, in which the cars of the train are rigid bus pipes, linked through flexible couplings much like rail cars. The track is the inside surface of the pipeline which is just like a gas pipeline with no elbows or tight bends.
I decided to act on this idea in late 2008, after Obama was elected. I applied in the first round of the ARPA-E program and three more times since then. I was first runner up in the 2009 Ignite Clean Energy Business Plan Competition, then spent a year with my partner Ron Todd making venture capital pitches until he quit in 2010 after I failed to get a deal with ABB (it was a close call, though).
In 2011-2012 I shifted my focus to medium voltage DC applications of Ballistic Breakers, which could be important enabling technologies for DC microgrids. My heart was never really in that, though. I am so glad to have had another chance to pitch elpipes and HVDC Ballistic Breakers.
The most important application for Ballistic Breakers is in enabling a multi-terminal HVDC supergrid. HVDC Ballistic Breakers will be less expensive than ABB's new HVDC circuit breaker. The combination of elpipes for high capacity bulk transfer and Ballistic Breakers as low cost HVDC circuit breakers are powerfully enabling for a future HVDC supergrid.
The most important application for Ballistic Breakers is in enabling a multi-terminal HVDC supergrid. HVDC Ballistic Breakers will be less expensive than ABB's new HVDC circuit breaker. The combination of elpipes for high capacity bulk transfer and Ballistic Breakers as low cost HVDC circuit breakers are powerfully enabling for a future HVDC supergrid.
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