Category Archives: News

Today, July 27th 2015, was delivered one of our Solar pump NS1 at the laboratory of the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna “Alma Mater Studiorum”. Professor Ing. Michele Bianchi, Professor of machines and systems for energy and the environment, has decided to invest in our technology and has purchased one of our eliopompe, modified with the addition of a second plate heat exchanger for testing in the laboratory, where solar energy is simulated with a kettle. We have also provided a special metallic support to facilitate the placement and use in the laboratory.

During testing bench took place last Thursday, the professor told us that the department intends to know and study our appliance to be able to start a search and then propose a collaboration to sell us the results of their work. Considering our machine the most promising of those who have appeared on the market in recent years. This approach means that the University believes in our technology and believes in our business success, since it is expected that they will pay for their work! It is an injection of confidence in the difficult and laborious start-up phase.

For what concerns us we do not ask better than to be able to collaborate with a prestigious university, rich in skills like the one of Bologna. We can not develop all the research and we need above all a support for the complicated thermodynamic calculations, made even more difficult by the fact of operating in a technology very little explored and the almost complete absence of specific scientific literature. We had tried in 2014 to approach with other universities, but without success. This new opportunity fills us with enthusiasm and opens up new interesting perspectives.

Among the 30s and 50s Daniele Gasperini developed different models of the thermodynamic engine at low temperature. They were different in size and performance, but always made mainly cast iron and based on a mechanism “connecting rod – crank”. In Nova Somor our Roberto Belardinelli, in addition to using more modern materials characterized by greater resistance, reliability and lightness compared to cast iron, he used a piston mechanism aligned on the same axis that reduces to the maximum the energy losses due precisely to the “connecting rod – crank “. The result was an invention whose patent was filed in early 2015.

During the winter of 2014-2015 we got to experience long-mechanics of our thermodynamic engine, the cylinder of the gas supply and the hydraulic pump being able to achieve excellent results. Having designed and built each component, they have been assembled in our workshop several complete groups which have spent hundreds of hours on the test bench. Kettle replaced the heat of the summer sun and a chiller simulated the fresh water of a well. First we switched valves piston movement of the motor, which is positioned inside the central cylinder of the assembly, consisting of three cylinders mounted on the same axis. Then he worked extensively on seals and their compatibility with the volatile gas used to create the thermodynamic cycle of the engine.

So then we worked on the calibration of the feed cylinder of liquefied gas, to detect the correct displacement in relation to that of the engine cylinder and to the evaporator. Then it was developed the hydraulic pump and finally we worked on the reduction and / or elimination of all friction and the final choice of the materials used and surface treatments to do. The result is balanced, powerful and reliable. Some problems of “teething” it can still give, as all new systems of recent invention do, but they will certainly be problems manageable and above “normal” in statistical terms.

As shown in our recent short video after one year since the founding of Nova Somor, we are ready for the market. Having started as innovative start-up in mid-July 2014, we arrived at the first prototype machine complete in late September. For this reason, last year we had a only few days of autumn sunshine to test the solar collector. The data we have been collecting have been promising, but we did not have the time needed as it was for the system pump – motor.

Fortunately the last 60 days between mid-May and today were full of sunny days that we could use to develop the solar collectors. But as for the engine system – pump there were never doubts, with the solar collector we were to evaluate two very different technologies: that of the roll bond and that of the finned pack. Both are appropriate, but they have different strengths and different defects that must be seen and experienced on the field. These tests made us very busy and committed our energies for much longer than we expected: we have at least a couple of months behind schedule that we set in 2014. In these days we are completing the tests for the first deliveries of complete NS1 in Italy and in Africa.

Aberration of consumerism and the ideology of continued growth have caused a great deal of damage in just a few decades, both in terms of environmental impact and the frenzied exploitation of resources. We are already feeling the effects of this, but future generations will pay an even higher price. It is as if we went to a restaurant and ate as much as we could, then walked out and left our grandchildren to pay the bill. It is not just about a financial burden that we are dealing with, a debt to manage, but also periods of scarcity, climate change, pollution, disease and many other unpleasant things.

Nova Somor wants to help clarify the approach to energy, in terms of both our perception and the language associated with it, which is currently distorted by marketing needs and the “robber economy” that we are happily practicing. Some claim to create energy, as if they were gods and obviously that is not true. Others say we must take advantage of the energy, a stupid and chimerical illusion, because you still pay a high price, although it might be paid by someone else in other parts of the planet or by future generations. Others are always looking for new energy production methods and technologies, which is pointless as there is already so much available everywhere.

First, we should reduce the huge amount of waste currently occurring and try to maintain a well-balanced standard of living whilst consuming less energy. We should then identify more gentle sources of renewable energy. Using free energy provided by the sun within the limits of our natural needs is a good example. That is precisely what NOVA SOMOR wants to demonstrate and do with its solar engines.

During our time at the tenth edition of SIAM, we were able to see for ourselves the amazing potential offered by Morocco in terms of agriculture. There is plenty of sun, the land is fertile and, with the right irrigation, excellent and abundant harvests of high-quality agricultural produce can be obtained. However, we also realised that water is being managed incorrectly and the same errors are being made that have been made in the past in Italy, Spain and other parts of the world. Too much water is being used too quickly, causing a dramatic drop in the water table. In the south for example, in the area of Agadir, wells were 20 or 30 metres deep a few years ago, but now they need to go down more than 110 metres! The government passes good laws and takes appropriate action, for example funding drip systems, but illegal wells are still made, sprinkler systems are still used and water wastage continues despite the good policies.

In the first few days of the exhibition farmers visited our stand asking if our solar pumps could achieve flow rates of 25,000 or 30,000 litres per hour. We told them that technically it was possible and we would work on it. However, on reflection we have decided not to. We do not want to be party to the depletion of water resources in Morocco or other countries. We do not want to work for the agricultural industry, our clients are the 500 million small farmers counted by FAO, who feed more than half of the human race. They are the ones we work for, as well as the residents of villages and towns without electricity where water is needed for drinking, washing and irrigating small vegetable gardens. Our clientele will be defined by the small size and limited performance of our NS1, bearing in mind that 3,000 or 5,000 litres per hour are more than enough for a small farmer or village.

In 2015, declared International Year of Light by UNESCO, there is much talk about photonics, that is to say technology connected with light. It is widely believed that photonics will assume the same importance and diffusion in this century as electronics did in the last century. One mainly thinks of lasers and their applications, photonic computers, the use of infrared technology for night vision, optical fibres for communication and such like.

However, little is said about the great energy of red and long waves. The various light waves arriving directly from the sun and stars or bouncing reflected or refracted off things around us are interpreted as colours by our brain and eyes. We also only see a small part of the light spectrum, namely light waves between 400 and 750 nanometers. From 0 to 400 nanometers, outside of the visible spectrum, are the ultraviolets, whilst the various shades of blue, that is to say “cold” light, can be found at between 400 and 500 nanometers.

Solar Pump NS1 uses warm light, long waves in shades of red of between 600 and 750 nanometers, but also the invisible area of infrareds, which goes well beyond 10,000 nanometers. That enormous band of invisible light contains all of the warmth needed by humanity and the other creatures living on the Earth. Even the background radiation generated at the start of the Universe is found in this part of the light spectrum, at the end of which are the radio waves. Red provides us with the energy needed to move our motors and much more could be done by simply collecting the long waves. Great is the power of red!

Nova Somor will debut on the international markets on the tenth anniversary of the SIAM (Salon International de l’Agriculture au Maroc), the largest agricultural fair which will take place in Meknes in Morocco from April 28th to May 3rd, 2015. The flow of visitors expected, divided between insiders and potential direct customers, is estimated at hundreds of thousands of people.

All of northern Africa and beyond participates every year to the SIAM. The special features of our thermodynamic system are ideal for tropical and sub tropical areas such as North Africa, where electricity doesn’t reach everywhere and the problem of raising water from wells is strongly felt.

The almost constant presence of sunny weather and the intense irradiation help the powerful and constant operation of our Solar Pump, which will be a major competitor of the diesel or electrical systems powered by photovoltaic panels systems. The robustness of the machine, the simplicity of use and the practically absent maintenance, further increase its competitiveness compared with other systems with similar performances.

We will be happy to welcome anyone who would like to visit us at stand A80 at the Agro-Fournitures Pole.

The spare parts of the new lifting system of the Solar Pump NS1 finally arrived on Friday. We had them manufactured in Fermignano, near Urbino and the supplier was good and fast. Although it was already past 6 pm, no one wanted to wait until Monday to see if the lifting system worked properly and whether it is actually as awesome to see as it is in the drawings. Those who drew them have the satisfaction of seeing an idea developed on the computer become a piece of metal!

So Luca and Alessandro from the technical department and Roberto and Maurizio from the prototypes workshop immediately set to work in order to see how the system would look once assembled. I was supposed to leave, but I stayed to take pictures (on the other hand, I don’t know how to do anything more than tighten a nut!). The components were brought to the assembly table in the blink of an eye and then quickly assembled and bolted to the frame. Then the assembly was taken to another area of the prototypes workshop where the roll bond , the main component of the solar collector, was mounted.

Finally, we tested the new lifting system which replaces the previous one. Although the assembly lacks the motor, the polycarbonate tile, the housing and especially the painting, we already had an idea of how the Solar Pump was going to be once finished. The system is fine and works well, and once painted it will look awesome. So we profited by the occasion for a toast with a great passito sweet wine; a toast “to a job well done “!

Tthe most important thing is that we finally have some sun here in Rimini and so it is possible to carry out the tests and trials of our new Solar Pump NS1 model. Although the name is the same, this version of the system has reached letter “F“. Being able to experiment in realistic conditions and not by simulating the heat with an industrial air heater blower or other means is very important.

The two-day conference was extremely successful, both in terms of promoting Nova Somor, and in gathering information as well as creating new relationships. At Bologna’s CNR I was able to get to know some of the people who work for the network of services in support of innovative SMEs, which Emilia Romagna has been organising for years. The latest measures, such as the Starter fund and the Energy fund, will help many innovative start-ups to launch their activities. The programs within Horizon 2020 were also very interesting, in particular Nova Somor’s participation to “Innovation for small enterprises” could be very useful.

In Catanzaro, in an amazing and beautiful university campus nestled in a landscape of green hills, full of wind turbines and sheep grazing, I attended a meeting with a completely different agenda. I was able to meet and listen to professors of law, notaries, and experts in marketing and corporatists who discussed the evolution of the rules for crowdfunding. The testimony that I brought regarding Nova Somor’s experience was greatly appreciated and it proved, if ever it were needed, that practical experience is worth a thousand theories.

I found getting to know some details of the new laws that extend the ability to raise funds from the crowd also to innovative SMEs very valuable. The reports of the last frontiers of marketing based on “crowd sourcing” were also interesting, a new way to produce and sell. In short, catching 4 planes for one single trip may not be environmentally friendly, but it was very useful. The picture shows a “person of a certain weight” who significantly lowered the level of elegance of the speakers, but who returned the favour by bringing a contribution of practical experience in a field of purely theoretical relationships and contents.

The success achieved with the equity crowdfunding operation, which finished at the end of 2014 on the Starsup portal, is also becoming a “cultural springboard” for a series of invitations for Nova Somor to testify in several different fields. The next events are scheduled for 12th and 13th March 2015.

On the 12th we will be present at the “Funding Opportunities in the Green sector” event, a workshop dedicated to funding opportunities in the field of Renewable Energy which Aster organises within the ENERGEIA project. This will be an opportunity for a dialogue concerning the main available European funding programs or those which will open soon, with specific action in the field of Renewable Energy, the Regional Energy Fund, the opportunities arising from debt financing and the two support programs to new ideas in the Green sector brought by Climate KIC.

Once the work in Romagna is over, we will fly directly to Catanzaro in Calabria in order to attend another event to which we have been invited for the morning of the 13th. This is the conference ” LA FOLLA E L’IMPRESA (CROWD AND BUSINESS)”, a dialogue between jurists and corporatists concerning the new dynamics of the co-creation of value and business financing.

The conference will take place at the Campus “Salvatore Venuta” of the University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, Department of Law, History, Economics and Social Sciences and is sponsored by the Notary Committee for the Calabria region. Cultural activities are very important for Nova Somor and these frequent invitations to conferences, events and workshops help us to spread our ideas and thus give our contribution to change and improvement in respect of the current economic and social model.

Nova Somor continues its development as planned. After the start-up of the company on July 15th, 2014, we were registered in the special register of companies as an innovative start-up on 10th September. We then made our “society debut” first in academia at the Musil of Brescia on 10th October and then on the market with the Ecomondo fair in Rimini on 8th November. We then faced the challenging task of equity crowd funding that was successfully completed on 31st December.

As well as financing our development, we acquired a new partner who is invaluable for his approach in doing business, very similar to that of the founding partners, and for his expertise in industrial fields. Now we are working on the full development of our solar pump and its industrialisation: we think we are going to have to produce a lot of them!

We are taking on our first employees and setting up a nice work team. Our next objective, to which we are very committed, is to join the great SIAM agricultural fair which will take place in Morocco from April 29th to May 3rd. We are also organising a sales network and creating collaborations: anyone interested in working with our company, please contact us!