AUGUST 2019 BusIness 17
“We’re also pioneering the use of
batteries within virtual power plants,
where we can combine a mixed
portfolio of energy assets to create low
carbon, low cost microgrids.”
Katherine Burden, low carbon sector
lead at GC Business Growth Hub,
added that she never fails to be
impressed by the tech businesses
based in this city region that are paving
the way for a greener future.
She concluded: “Greater Manchester
is home to some of the UK’s most
innovative green tech businesses,
including start-ups such as Vertogen
right through to larger enterprises such
as Siemens.
“In 2015/16, our sector sales hit an
estimated £6.8bn, ranked second in
England behind only London and the
South East.
“At GC Business Growth Hub we
work with hundreds of green tech
businesses, and the diversity and
capability of the sector is impressive.
“Continued innovation in renewable
energy generation, electric vehicles,
energy storage and smart building
technologies are really encouraging
to see, and continues to support
Greater Manchester’s ambition to
become a world-leading green city-
region.”
INNOVATIVE green tech company
Vertogen is looking to roll out its
“vertical wind turbines” globally as
it targets its next rapid phase of
growth.
The Bury-based business has
created turbines that revolve
around a vertical axis rather than
conventional turbines which rotate
on a horizontal axis.
The company, which has spent
around a decade honing and
refining the engineering, both
designs and manufactures the wind
turbines entirely in the North West.
Vertical axis turbines are much
quieter and more compact than
their horizontal cousins, but have
traditionally suffered from many
design problems.
Crucially, Vertogen’s design
includes a self-governing variable
pitch system which creates lift from
multiple blades while reducing drag
from the remaining ones.
It functions efficiently in open or
turbulent wind conditions like
urban areas, where other vertical
axis wind turbines cannot. It is alsototally mechanical, making it more
robust, and it can be used to
generate either electricity or
mechanical output for applications
like pumps and compressors.
Founder Mike Chung said: “Our
vision for Vertogen is to create a new
type of vertical wind turbine that
will change the basic concept
forever and produce affordable,
efficient and clean energy that will
benefit everyone and reduce global
pollution.
“Our unique solution has been
ten years in the making.
“It can operate in urban and open
environments, is scalable fromsmall domestic or
commercial installations to
wind farms, and it has been
entirely manufactured in the
North West.”
For the past year, Vertogen
has been working with GC
Business Growth Hub to
access much-needed support
to increase its profile with
potential investors and
understand how to secure
intellectual property rights.
The turbine’s potential to generate
green energy in a variety of
environments has already been
recognised by the UK’s innovation
agency, Innovate UK, which
provided funding in 2014 and 2016
to further the design and undertake
a feasibility study.
Jack Smith, low carbon sector
adviser at the Hub, who has been
working closely with the company,
said: “The UK leads the world in
wind power, and Vertogen’s unique
design is another example of the
huge contribution the North West is
making to this success.”Vertogen sets sail for next grow th phase
TWO major Manchester hospitals are on the
brink of slashing their energy bills in half after
investing £10.9m in state-of-the-art energy
technology.
Wythenshawe Hospital and Withington
Community Hospital, part of the Manchester
University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), will use
the savings they make from the new technology to
fund the investment.
The cutting-edge energy technology, which will
be installed at the two hospitals by Salford-based
Centrica Business Solutions, will also reduce
annual carbon emissions by 25 per cent – the
equivalent to taking more than 780 cars off the
road.
The 14-month long project, due to complete
next March [2020], will replace all the energy
infrastructure currently used by MFT at these two
hospital sites.
At Wythenshawe Hospital, the work will also
include the creation of a new energy centre which
will house a combined heat and power (CHP)
unit, delivering almost all the power needed to
run the hospital, as well as four new high-
efficiency boilers.
The site will also benefit from an upgraded
energy distribution system that will serve 12
primary plant rooms that provide heat to the
hospital.
At Withington Community Hospital the project
will include the installation of a CHP unit.Centrica Business Solutions will also install
more than 9,200 energy efficient LED lights and
control systems across the two sites.
Alan Barlow, UK & Ireland Director of Centrica
Business Solutions, explained: “This investment
will deliver a much-needed replacement of the
ageing and outdated energy systems at two key
hospitals in Greater Manchester, helping to
unlock energy saving and meet carbon reduction
targets.“Our research shows that if this
approach was replicated across just
half of the NHS estate the combined
saving would be more than £130m.
“Not only would it deliver huge
cost savings but also improve
energy resilience which is essential
for patients and staff.”
The project will be delivered
under a 15-year Energy
Performance Contract with
Centrica Business Solutions that
will include operations and
maintenance support, with backing
from Carbon and Energy Fund and
Macquarie.
David Furnival, group director of
estates and facilities at MFT said:
“For MFT to deliver excellent
patient-focused healthcare
services, both now and for the
future, we need to be sustainable in the use of our
resources.
“Sustainable healthcare will help our budgets
stretch further and the investment that this
programme will deliver alongside the reduction
in our carbon emissions is invaluable.
“We are pleased to be working in partnership
with Centrica Business Solutions to deliver this
long-term transformation at two of our hospitals
within the Trust.”Manchester UniVersity nhs foUndation trUst
slashes costs and carbon eMissions with new
£10.9M inVestMent in new energy technology