The BioCPV Project is a £1.4m initiative funded by EPSRC-DST that provides renewable energy to 80 households in a remote village in West Bengal, India. It uses concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology as its main energy source and produces biogas from local biomass to store energy through hydrogen storage. The project is a collaboration between universities in India and the UK and represents the first of its kind integrated energy system in the region, paving the way for social equality through innovative energy solutions.

1. BioCPV Project
A cutting edge renewable energy solution
FUNDING
£1.4m
EPSRC-DST
FUNDIN
G
USERS
80
HOUSEHOLD
SIN A
REMOTE
HAMLE
T
HYDROGEN STORAGE
ENERGY IS
STORED
THROUGH
HYDROGEN
STORAGE
A B.U.R.D. PROJECT
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE
BRIDGING URBAN
RURAL DIVIDE
INITIATIVE
CPV TECHNOLOGY
THE MAIN ENERGY SOURCE
IS FROM
CONCENTRATED
PV TECHNOLOGY
BIOGAS PROCUDTION
LOCA
LBIO
MASS
USED TO PRODUCE BIOGAS
ENERGY DEMAND
ENERGY DISTRIBUTION
PAVING THE WAY
THIS PROJECT
IS THE FIRST
OF ITS KIND
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
0 5 10 15 20
ENERGY(kWh)
HOUR OF THE DAY
LOAD PROFILE
Health
Education
Economics
Lifestyle
IN WEST BENGAL
Social equality through innovation.
In association with The Hammermen of Edinburgh at
hammermen.org

2. In the summer of 2015, we successfully
gained a grant to produce a commercial
report on the BioCPV project. The
management revolved around 4 main
areas
Fair & unbiased
judgment
Political
responsibility
The information conveyed has a
direct relevance to the UK and
Indian government funding
bodies involved
Social
responsibility
Commercial
responsibility
With a commercial project
comes the responsibility of
being informative and
captivating to the audience
As well as the responsibility of running the
project, there was also a professional
responsibility in the creative process to
convey information in the right manner
Budget
The awarded budget had
to cover everything from
logistics to editing and
production
Logistics
Interviews and site visits
were planned in advance
and coordinated with the
contacts at each institute
Training
Mainly involved
film production
training
Research
It is important to
convey information
in an unbiased way
and always peer
reviewed
The social aspect of the project is of
great importance and the
documentary aims to highlight the
social responsibility towards the
end users and point out the
inequalities of access to
energy
The research developed at
each university over the
course of the project in their
respective areas was analysed
to gain further understanding
of the technologies
Social equality through innovation.
In association with The Hammermen of Edinburgh.
Social equality through innovation.
In association with The Hammermen of Edinburgh at
hammermen.org

3. Indian Institute
of Technology
Bombay,
Mumbai
Visva-Baharati
University,
Santiniketan
Indian Institute
of Technology
Madras,
Chennai
After having gained an in depth insight to
the BioCPV project and technologies, here
are our main observations
International collaborations are
extremely beneficial for
technological developments
Main challenges in multi
institutional projects are the
organisational structure and
communication strategies
The project can be developed
further by optimising costs
and benefits
Excellent example of
innovation aimed at
decreasing social divide and
working with communities
The participating institutes and locations
of travel are highlighted below
Social equality through innovation.
In association with The Hammermen of Edinburgh.
Social equality through innovation.
In association with The Hammermen of Edinburgh at
hammermen.org
CPV
O2 H2
Energy Storage
Air
H2Store
Biomass BiogasAnaerobic
Digester

4. Biomass BiogasAnaerobic
Digester
Social equality through innovation.
In association with The Hammermen of Edinburgh at
hammermen.org
Heat
Power
Power
CPV
SYSTEM DIAGRAM
DATA COLLECTION
1)Irradiance
2)Power
Output
3)Heat
Rejected
1)Gas Level
(%)
2)Power Input
3)Power
Output
1)Tank Level
2)Input/Output
Feed Rate
3)Heat Input
4)Biomass
Temperature
O2 H2
Energy Storage
Air
H2Store

5. TECHNOLOGIES
Biomass BiogasAnaerobic
Digester
O2 H2
Energy Storage
Air
H2Store
CPV Primary
Mirror
Optical
Rod
Solar
Cell
Secondary
Mirror
H2
H2O H2O