West Midlands company making energy from discarded plastic on track for funding target
A Warwickshire business which has developed a hybrid heat pump system that turns items such as plastics, nappies and uneaten food into energy directly on-site to provide hot water, is on course for its Crowdcube fundraising target of £1.8 million.
With 22 days to go, Heru has raised more than £1 million – 55 per cent of its target.
HERU is an Energy Creation Station. The user simply places materials they would previously have discarded as waste into their HERU, close the lid and switch it on.
The HERU extracts from an average mix of items, eight mega joules of energy per kilo and transfers this energy to the hot water system.
It's a hybrid heat pump which produces consistent energy, regardless of the weather conditions. HERU can be powered by solar, wind, biogas, 20 per cent hydrogen blend with natural gas and LPG.
Last month, the company, which is led by Nik Spencer, delivered the first commercial HERU125 to Severn Trent Water.
Nik is an entrepreneur and founder of a number of successful start-ups within the recycling and waste management sector. The HERU is the culmination of his lifetime ambition to bring value to items that are currently discarded with no further purpose, causing evident harm to the environment.
A business can generate heat for water at source from its own confidential documents, contaminated paper and cardboard, plastic packaging, PPE, food, shredded pallets, textiles etc.
Even a zoo can use the HERU Hybrid Energy Resource Unit, says the company, to generate energy from animal droppings!
The HERU leaves very few items to discard with no further purpose, massively reducing the need for the carbon-intensive, expensive broken “waste” industry, while reducing costly collections.
The HERU uses a natural process known as Pyrolysis to break down everyday materials and harness the energy contained within them.
Energy from the Earth’s crust decomposes organic material over millions of years and produces energy. HERU does exactly the same natural process in a matter of hours.
