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I love cycling and I’ve followed cargo bikes for many years and tested a great deal of them, even went to the cargo bike festival last year in Groningen. Sadly EAV weren’t present. I also used to operate a 4 wheeler cargo bike for work. As I said in another thread, EAV are happy working with Verditek; They’re averaging 25% increase in range or used for auxiliary purposes. Greatly depends on the topography and location (in London it may be fairly flat centrally but tall buildings can limit the solar exposure at certain parts of the day due to shading/blocking. If they’re averaging 25% now for DPD (think they’ve been running with them the longest) then one could add 50% say onto that when Graphene PV is working reliably, which would equate to 37.5%.
Aargh! The smiley face comes up as a ?? Doh! Old school then :-)
Sophie1 - Aside from my typo, I'm not apologising ??, just explaining where I'm coming from in terms of my perspective and trying to ascertain if I'm missing anything as I was put off a bit by the over ebullient Harrison interview; it was the comparison with conventional panels that concerned me, as if VDTK were the only company in the world making flexible panels.
I've listened to all the interviews that Parob provided a link to; was there another one I missed?
Forgot to mention, the 25% is in relation to the flexible panel, just, as I said before, the cell itself, not the module as Sunpower use the same mono crystalline cell; it says so on the link I previously enclosed. They don't state the module or panel efficiency but as you say, probably around 22%.
No wish to discredit, I don't do that. When I'm investing my hard earned I don't want my desire for clean tech companies to succeed to blind me from any potential issues. As I've only just come across this company after a sizeable increase in it's value I'm trying to play catch-up when the market is closed. Many people on here will have spent far longer researching this company so just trying to get a handle on it. I guess I'm perplexed at why existing solar companies have seemingly missed a trick.
Just noticed the typo, not VRDT, but should be VDTK.
As I said, I don't know why the warranty is different; see my earlier comment; I have sent an email to VRDT so will report back if they explain anything of interest.
I'm not a Sunpower reseller but if you look online I'm sure you'll be able to find the cost of the 170W unit and work out the cost/m2 of their unit. £1.50/W sounds competitive though is that just for one 275W panel or 1kW worth?
Yes, the payback is very short for military applications.
I've contacted EAV and they are impressed with the responsiveness of Verditek; that could be another reason why Verditek are making headway; more adaptable to startups and SMEs and in EAVs case dealing with another UK company.
I'm not sure about using flow batteries in transportation applications due to the liquid electrolyte. They are usually used in stationary applications for stability reasons. I foresee solid state batteries combined with solar having greater potential due to being much safer than li cylindrical cells, having a higher energy density and greater versatility in placement inside the plane.
Bananaman2 - I see that the new CEO is a good salesman as well as other members of the team but that didn't answer my question in terms of how the product sufficiently differentiates itself. Perhaps it's the TUV testing and the custom size? I also noticed that the company are trialling with an e-cargobike company which is encouraging.
You were way off with the size and efficiency of Sunpower's panels though. They are 5.46ft by 1.82 feet. Similar weight too. They also use 25% efficiency cells so on a module basis they will still have a pretty high efficiency. If VDTK use their cells then they should have the same efficiency. When you build larger panels, the module efficiency usually increases, not decreases.
Link for the Sunpower panels: https://us.sunpower.com/sites/default/files/sunpower-flexible-panel-170w-4x12_0.pdf
Thank you to those that have responded to my query.
To address the points made:
Whether it is 170 or 275, the efficiency is based per m2 not the max wattage size. Is there an inference that Sunpower or Renogy or other competitors cannot build larger panels? And why not?
The warranty is important; I don't know why VDTK is able to provide a much longer warranty/guarantee. Given the mono crystalline cells in the competitors units are likely to be the same or similar that is curious; is the polymer used in VDTKs panels a proprietary one that enables it to last much longer? I haven't seen any evidence of that yet.
Volume: I see no reason why VDTK doesn't have the potential to produce much larger volumes; that's not preposterous and scale in this industry usually reduces the unit cost as long as quality control isn't altered.
The CEO quote doesn't hold any weight for me; results and contract wins do.
I've seen market sizes bandied about in the clean sector; it's a way of highlighting a potential growth story; it's the same with the H2, waste to energy and graphene sector. I'm certainly not dismissing those figures as the clean tech market as a whole is enormous and has been underrated but it doesn't mean VDTK will get a tiny slice; it could get a minuscule slice or indeed a significant one dependant on how distinct the product is and how effective the management is.
Will a competitor sign a deal with VRS for example? Or indeed are they already experimenting with them but haven't disclosed anything yet?
I am not trying to dismiss the potential here; I've seen so many solar companies struggle or falter and margins deteriorate that I'm cautious of the bombastic claims that Paul Harrison delivered in that video; he kept comparing their product to conventional panels, when really he should be comparing them to other semi flexible solar panels. The key here still seems to be the impact that graphene will have on the panels, notably the improved conduction, durability and resulting efficiency.
I will go through the historical posts both here and in ADVFN.
I only just found out about this company yesterday. I have gone through the videos Parob posted, thank you, and gone through their website.
Observations: Unless I am mistaken, Graphene is not the icing on the cake as Paul Harrison intimated, but the cake itself. I have looked for a USP but have yet to find one, putting aside graphene. Lightweight, thin, robust, polymer based Semi flexible solar has been around for many years, and has gradually improved in efficiency along with conventional solar. Sunpower is one company that produces high efficiency PV modules, both conventional and semi-flexible. The solar industry is incredibly competitive with factories that produce over 1000MWs annually.
Given Sunpower's size, they are certainly in a position to explore graphene and embed it into their panels. They can also scale up at a rapid rate, either with their own facilities or existing suppliers.
Could someone please highlight what the USP is (aside from graphene), as it seems unclear to me at present; hopefully I'm missing something that's right in front of me as I want to invest in more clean tech companies.
Indeed, news items often overlook the key aspects to make a better headline. It’s up 500% from being both phenomenally undervalued and from investors noticing the qualities of an astute CEO who is providing the financial routes to contract completion.
If there is a placing it would only make sense to do so if it is to strengthen their balance sheet prior to a deal (I have previously noticed clients request stronger balance sheets from developing companies to give them reassurance) or to ensure they have sufficient funds to take a share in one of the deals they have lined up, such as Billingham. However, DP comes across as financially astute as is reflected in the various ways in which they can generate revenue from the waste contracts going forward as well as options to participate in a share of these contracts and revenue from selling to other agents such as the gas and electricity grid; time will tell, and I don't think we have to wait much longer to find out. If there is a placing at a lower SP due to a firm deal being undertaken the SP may dip briefly but surge ahead. If a deal is undertaken then EQT will receive income and may raise at a higher SP to support investment in future contracts.
The MOU was running out next month. They need a bit longer to discuss and finalise details of the project to the funders they have lined up (not a done deal yet). However they were confident enough to pay for a grid connection quotation. They now have the right to buy out Scott Bros; if they do buy them out then they will have a greater share of the funds attained from developing the project.