NEW Hybrid vehicle and lead acid battery regeneration technology offers foreign exchange earning and self-employment opportunities with overnight results in Trinidad and Tobago.
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The potential new industry is being driven by local innovator Ancel Bhagwandeen, owner of ProtoFabTT, who sees the development as a way for the country to earn much needed foreign exchange.
"Trinidad and Tobago imports one million lead acid batteries a year and that is about US$30 million worth of imports and if 30 per cent of those can be regenerated locally and used again, that would mean a US$10 million potential savings on import expenses."
Speaking to Express Business last Friday, Bhagwandeen said in March 2018, MIC Institute of Technology joined forces with him to launch a battery regeneration programme, which has a lot of potential.
A portable device, he said, regenerates used lead acid batteries (auto, marine, sealed & deep cycle) and is called the Ion Hammer.
"This portable IoT device, the Ion Hammer, regenerates spent used lead acid batteries (ULAB) at a commercially viable rate, optimising waste resource use while mitigating environmental contamination," Bhagwandeen said.
He said an article, which appeared in 2019 in the Marketers'' Media website stated China''s lead acid battery market is anticipated to grow over five per cent by 2024.
"The US lead acid battery market, in 2017 was valued at over US$8 billion. Increasing demand for reliable power quality across critical power applications in communications, Oil & Gas networks, and for the data storage in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will propel the industry growth," according to Marketers Media.
Bhagwandeen said this country has to change its business model and see the benefits of the lead acid battery regeneration tech and how beneficial it is to the environment.
The local inventor and innovator said a lot of well-known automotive dealers still have not latched on to the regeneration technology and he is hoping that they will soon realise the benefits of the recycled batteries.
"People can become self-employed once they get the training to operate lead acid battery regeneration tech. It diagnoses, processes, recovers and rerates previously failed batteries, giving them a new lease on life."
Bhagwandeen said the pilot project with MIC-IT, to get the new technology started, was supposed to begin this month. However the Government cut their subvention in October so the company now has to revaluate its expenses.
He said: "Everything is on pause for another six months until they can re-evaluate. The pandemic has had a trickle-down effect on the economy and while it is unfortunate that things that can actually generate a future also get sidelined, that is the reality we are faced with."
However, Bhagwandeen said on the bright side the Ministry of Planning and Development had indicated recently that they will be accessing a TT$64 million dollar grant from the European Union for innovation and product-ready technology innovation, which can lead to export opportunities.
He noted that the Green Fund is another avenue he can go to, but he is required to work with a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) to access the funding.
Bhagwandeen said this business model is feasible once scrap batteries come in steadily and other countries come on board to purchase the product.
"We have some interest coming out of Suriname and West Africa. My company, ProtoFabTT, sold a few of the Ion Hammer units to West Africa about three years ago and last November they enquired for more as the country is looking to set up their own operations to regenerate batteries. The recent Covid-19 surge caused a setback in purchasing of the units.
He added that once funding comes his way, his plan for the near future is to start up a manufacturing plant to supply the Ion Hammer to countries in Asia.
The Ministry of Planning and Development via WhatsApp said it endorsed such a project that Bhagwandeen has developed as such inventions and initiatives augur in favour of placing the environment at the centre of economic and social development, supporting the sustainable measures needed for environmental sustenance as well as providing opportunities for innovation.
And the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre in Jamaica also said via WhatsApp that it supports and commends the joint venture between MIC-IT and Bhagwandeen, the inventor in commercialising the new hybrid vehicle and lead acid battery regeneration technology.
"It demonstrates outstanding potential to combat climate change, create indigenous value, drive meaningful employment and generate foreign exchange savings/earnings for the Caribbean," the Caribbean Climate Innovation Centre stated.
Fifty-five-year-old Bhagwandeen worked in petrochemical industry (AMOCO/FERTRIN), ICT (DELL Computer) and also started the first 100 per cent digital television production studio in Trinidad (3D animation, Bluescreen, Special FX, 1993) and then worked in technical vocational training environments.
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passion for sustainable tech: Ancel Bhagwandeen
clean-energy project: The Battery Alchemist, a hybrid electric vehicle battery-regeneration device, invented by Ancel Bhagwandeen.
Ancel Bhagwandeen''s latest invention, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) battery-regeneration device, which he calls "The Battery Alchemist", has placed first in the world for climate innovation in the global green business idea competition, ClimateLaunchpad.
Bhagwandeen was last month accepted at the global semi-finals of the competition. His invention is the first clean-energy project from Trinidad and Tobago to earn a place in the largest global competition for climate change mitigation projects.
Bhagwandeen is now in the final 16 for the best climate innovation globally, which will be announced on November 3. No other Caribbean country has made it this far in the ten years of this global competition, which is funded by the EU, Bank of America and others.
The inventor/industrial engineer spoke with the Express recently about his latest accomplishment, the impact of his invention, and his passion to create sustainable technologies tailored for the Caribbean region''s development needs.
"It''s both surreal and exciting being the first from T&T and then the first from the Caribbean to create the top global ''sustainable mobility'' technology project/invention for climate change mitigation and sustainability," Bhagwandeen said.
He added: “Hopefully, this HEV battery-regeneration invention can now be funded to become a fully exportable commercial innovation, whether that support comes from local sources or foreign investors it can only benefit our region. The next phase via the climatelaunchpad platform involves the invention being ‘accelerated’ into commercial reality via their network and linkages.”
Bhagwandeen''s latest invention comes on the heels of the invention of his solar hydroponics tower garden system, which is being implemented for smart agriculture and incorporates the first electronic African snail defence system.
Bhagwandeen said The Battery Alchemist is a portable, cost-effective device suitable for the Caribbean region. It requires little training or deployment costs. It will reduce the general public''s HEV battery replacement costs by 80 to 90 per cent. It will be available in mid-2023 and the cost for the smaller unit should be around $2,000.
He explained: "More technically, it is an electronic means utilising artificial intelligence/machine learning to assess, remedy and electrochemically repair spent hybrid electric vehicle batteries. It is based on the principle of electro-sonification, which employs a variable process called pulse-width modulation to excite/resonate battery electrodes, in order to break down and resolve the stubborn chemical imbalances causing the progressive battery defects.
He said the initial battery-regeneration concept came about because of the rising cost of car starter battery replacement and to create indigenous technology-based solutions as a business model.
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