Company Diligence
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Leilac low-carbon cement technology?
This data-file explores Leilac low-carbon cement technology, which separates the calcination stage, within an indirectly heated reactor, so that 98% pure CO2 can be gathered and sequestered, with requiring post-combustion CCS (amines). Patents from parent company, Calix, lock up the technology, with clear and intelligible details, although this also shows where the challenges are.
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Smart Wires: grid capacity breakthroughs?
This Smart Wires technology review finds that Static Synchronous Series Compensators (SmartValve) and dynamic line rating software (SUMO) can increase throughput along existing transmission lines by 20-100%+. The patents confer a visible moat around SmartValve and focus on improving electrical performance reducing deployment costs.
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Shanghai Electric: gas turbine technology competition?
Shanghai Electric gas turbine technology is contrasted against the Western gas turbine leaders in this data-file, based on reviewing 20 patents from 2021-24. Shanghai Electric is clearly trying to compete in this space, and the patent review uncovered interesting details into turbine temperatures, efficiencies, reliability, AI+sensing and manufacturing costs.
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Howmet: turbine blade breakthroughs?
Howmet is an engineered metals company, and the world’s #1 supplier of blades and vanes for jet engines and gas turbines. It has claimed an edge in direct-casting cooling channels (rather than drilling them) and bond coats that improve the adherence of Thermal Barrier Coatings. Our Howmet gas turbine technology review found support for these…
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Kraken Technologies: smart grid breakthrough?
Kraken Technologies is an operating system, harnessing big data across the power value chain, from asset optimization, to grid balancing, to utility customer services. We reviewed ten patents, which all harness big data, of which 65% optimize aspects of the grid, and 40% are using AI. This supports the deployment of distributed energy, renewables and…
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Groq: AI inference breakthrough?
Groq has developed LPUs for AI inference, which are up to 10x faster and 80-90% more energy efficient than today’s GPUs. This 8-page Groq technology review assesses its patent moat, LPU costs, implications for our AI energy models, and whether Groq could ever dethrone NVIDIA’s GPUs?
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Ideal Power: Bi-Directional Bipolar Junction Transistors?
Bi-Directional Bipolar Junction Transistors are an emerging category of semiconductor-based switching device, that can achieve lower on-state voltage drops than MOSFETs and softer, faster switching than IGBTs, to improve efficiency and lower component count in bi-directional power converters. This data-file screens B-TRAN patents from Ideal Power.
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Air Products: ammonia cracking technology?
Can we de-risk Air Products’s ammonia cracking technology in our roadmaps to net zero, which is crucial to recovering green hydrogen in regions that import green ammonia from projects such as Saudi Arabia’s NEOM. We find strong IP in Air Products’s patents. However, we still see 15-35% energy penalties and $2-3/kg of costs in ammonia…
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Eastman: molecular recycling technology?
This patent screen reviews Eastman’s molecular recycling technology. Specifically, Eastman is spending over $2bn, to construct 3 plants, with 380kTpa of capacity, to break down hard-to-recycle polyesters back into component monomers, with 20-80% lower CO2 intensity than virgin product. We find evidence for 30-years of fine-tuning, and can bridge to 10% IRRs if buyers pay…
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Prysmian E3X: reconductoring technology?
Prysmian E3X technology is a ceramic coating that can be added onto new and pre-existing power transmission cables, improving their thermal emissivity,so they heat up 30% less, have 25% lower resistive losses, and/or can carry 25% increased currents. This data-file locates the patents underpinning E3X technology, identifies the materials used, and finds a strong moat.
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