OUT: SOLARBOTANIC TREES

HARRY CORRIGAN FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, SOLARBOTANIC TREE PROJECT

These ribbons are able to utilise a large amount of kinetic energy, due to the fact that the tree responds to environmental forces with tension, compression, bending, shear and torsion. Wind, as well as vibrations and raindrops, will all contribute to the energy tree’s gathering of convertible energy. Designed to offer aesthetically pleasing and sustainable energy, the trees are suited to large-scale commercial environments, such as flagship office sites and sports stadiums.

The development of the project came about through collaborations with Brunel University London and its Co-Innovate enterprise programme with the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry (MTC) and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), all of which have been fundamental in getting the innovation to market.

The first-generation SolarBotanic Tree is aiming to be the first step in a range of renewable products and industries, primarily aimed at the rapid Electric Vehicle charging market for homes, businesses and commercial car parks, where solar power can be captured and stored for charging points. A single tree generates enough electricity to provide the necessary energy for a threeroom house, and any excess energy produced can be sold back into the main grid.

SolarBotanic Trees are aiming to produce 3,000 trees a year by 2027. The artifcial trees can produce between 2000 and 12,000 of energy per year.

Solar Botanic claims that its artificial trees will have the ability to produce between 2,000 and 12,000 KWh of energy per year.

Due to the tree's domed surface area, its photovoltaic cells are designed to capture as much light as possible throughout the seasons, whilst its smart management and storage system can link trees together, to form part of a local grid or feed into the national one.

Founded by its now-Executive Chairman, Harry Corrigan, a decade ago, the project took a total of ten years, with Corrigan designing the 16ft device.

SolarBotanic Trees recently received its first set of orders, with RAW Charging initially supplying 200 co-branded solar trees as part of SolarBotanic Tree’s network of commercial electric vehicle (EV) charging sites currently being rolled out across the UK and Europe. Deliveries will start in mid-2023 and be completed in 2024.

With an estimated 45% of drivers needing to charge their EVs away from home, RAW is one of the largest UK providers of EV charging solutions.

We caught up with Harry Corrigan to learn more about his innovative product, and how it is shaking up the energy sector.

Conceptualising the SolarBotanic Tree

The SolarBotanic Tree as a product concept was devised over 7 years ago, and has been designed in collaboration with potential customers, architects and suppliers to ensure an aesthetically attractive, functional and affordable alternative to conventional solar panels. The project was inspired by wind turbines, and from Corrigan’s reading about biomimicry and what can be done by copying nature.

The tree has been developed in collaboration with Co-Innovate – a business support programme which supports SMEs in London by using academic and innovation resources at Brunel University London, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry and the AMRC’s Design and Prototyping Group – who will be conducting the prototype testing.

Overseeing all things SolarBotanic

“My role within SolarBotanic is overseeing R&D. From the start, I have taken the initial concept through various iterations, designed the concept by collaborating with an Innovation and business support scheme at Brunel University London called ‘Co-Innovate’ and funded various educational institutions in order to give bright engineering graduates the opportunity to develop something truly ground-breaking technologically, as well as aesthetically pleasing, which will contribute significantly to decarbonisation,” Corrigan explains.

“I would consider myself to be a serial entrepreneur, with over 40 years of experience in business in the US, Europe, Africa and Australasia.”

Challenges in developing SolarBotanic Tree

Using a dome-shaped surface to host solar PV cells is challenging, since all cells receive different energy inputs from the sun and therefore have different amounts of energy generation.

Simulations have been performed to find the difference in generation in a typical year and to limit the influence lower-performing cells have on the higher-performing ones. This will be field-tested in Q1 of 2023 to validate the simulations.

Advantages over other solarpowered energy sources

Regarding the tree itself, the dome is designed to capture as much sunlight as possible by utilising a 3D surface area which is elevated so that the land underneath can still be used, for example, to park a car, grow shade-resistant crops, or shaded seating for people. The AI-driven Energy Management System (EMS) uses AI to optimise energy generation, conversion and distribution strategies.

“The battle against climate change, and the visual impact that distributed renewable energy technologies have, motivated me to come up with a solution that generates clean energy while looking good,” says Corrigan.

Plans to launch and expand

“We have been inundated with requests to host demonstrator sites and currently we are talking to local and town councils with a view to find a high profile site in a large city centre,” Corrigan adds.

“We are also in discussions with a number of potential joint venture partners that can facilitate global distribution and manufacturing and with President Biden’s recent statement regarding the need for EV charging infrastructure, the US is a likely market, however, we will concentrate on the home market in the UK first and foremost.”