VGRID Energy Systems Releases New Sustainable Energy Conversion Solution

VGRID Energy Systems, Inc. is a renewable energy solutions company that develops technologies for a more sustainable future. VGRID develops water irrigation technology to restore farmland soils to make them both productive and sustainable. The company also provides farmers with low-cost distributed electricity and biomass for irrigation. VGRID aims to provide its customers in the agriculture sector with an improved quality of life, as well as protect the environment by creating a positive life-cycle concerning energy generation and food production. Last month, VGRID announced the release of its new cutting-edge energy conversion solution, the Bio-Energy Server 100.

Image used courtesy of VGRID Energy

The Bio-Energy Server 100

VGRID’s Model 100 Bioserver combines both a gasification system and a micro-generator to create low-cost renewable electricity and biochar. Biochar is charcoal that is produced when biomass is thermally decomposed at a high temperature. The International Biochar Initiative defines biochar as "The solid material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment". VGRID has consulted veterinarians to certify the biochar for use as a cattle feed additive. Biochar has been shown to improve cattle growth and feed efficiency. Biochar can also be used for improving compost used as fertilizer and help reduce ammonia emissions, as well as manage contamination through the adsorption of harmful heavy metals and other matter.

The VGRID M100 Bioserver can process biomass and small form factor dense organic matter. Materials such as macadamia, walnut and pistachio nuts, almond shells, wood chips, wood pellets, and pellets made from organics such as grasses and manure. Pellets of such materials can be made to meet the density required to produce the best quality biochar. The use of abundant waste materials produced from agriculture and forestry will be beneficial for the world as it will help to reduce carbon dioxide produced from burning them and provide electrical energy for a world that needs sustainable energy to mitigate the effects of climate change.

VGRID’s bioservers are being offered to farmers as a turn-key co-op solution or as an own and operate solution. Mining technologies could be used alongside VGRID’s biosensors to extract materials and decarbonize the atmosphere simultaneously.

A depiction of biosensor arrays and output energy. Image used courtesy of VGRID Energy

Bioservers can convert such waste materials into clean, usable energy. VGRID’s technology can produce electricity and the highly porous carbon-based biochar material. The bioservers feature a modular design that enables them to be used singly, or as a group for energy-demanding or large-scale applications. The single units can be deployed to different sites to provide on-demand distributed energy and an array of linked bioservers can be used to meet any power requirement.

In a news release from last month, the CEO of VGRID, Greg Campbell, said, "The advantage of bio-energy is that there is an abundant cheap source of fuel that can provide electricity on demand.” Campbell added, "This is important for utilities who struggle to manage intermittent sources from solar and wind."

VGRID’s biosensor technology can help the world farm more sustainably and recycle materials that were once thought of as waste to provide clean energy; mitigating carbon dioxide release and conserving the limited resources we have.