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GKR solutions I/S

My Master’s Thesis…

Renewable energy was the topic of my Master’s thesis. I wrote this project at Copenhagen Business School as part of the “Master of Science in International Business Administration and Modern Languages”. It deals with the sales potential of a specific product that produces heat and electricity in homes. It may be rather technical but it is available here in case you are interested in renewable energy, more precisely wood pellets, Stirling engines and micro-cogeneration (production of both electricity and heat on a very small scale). Here you can also find my old website about wood pellet manufacturers in Europe which was well received by biomass organisations.

Summary

A Case Study of

Micro-Cogeneration for Single-Family Dwellings:

Evaluating the European Sales Potential of External Power's Wood Pellet Fuelled 1Twin

Copenhagen Business School (2001)

An Ohio-based US company, External Power LLC, specialising in Stirling engine cogeneration systems, is developing a micro-cogeneration product fuelled by wood pellets, targeted markets in North America, Europe and Japan. This product, referred to as the wood pellet fuelled 1Twin, will enable users to generate their own electricity (max. 3 kW) and heat directly in their home. The study is a preliminary investigation of the European sales potential of this product, when launched in 2003.

Various aspects of the marketing environment are examined, among others: the availability of wood pellets in Europe; how the product might be used by consumers, including cost of operation; laws and policies; and potential competition coming from companies in the micro-cogeneration industry, the electricity industry and traditional heating systems in Europe.

These aspects are helpful in gaining an understanding of the European sales potential but no definite answers as to sales potential can be given in the report. However, based on availability of wood pellets, the study concludes that it might be a reasonable strategy to concentrate a launch in well developed wood pellet markets, e.g. Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Germany but new markets are developing in the recent years. As the electricity grid extends to most households in Europe it is likely that the product will be used in conjunction with the electricity grid.

The micro-cogeneration industry is developing rapidly in the recent years. The study shows that there seems to be no close brand competition (i.e. other biomass fuelled micro-CHP products) but around 15 companies have launched or are planning to launch micro-cogeneration products.