Energy efficiency innovator, Inspirit Energy Holdings plc (AIM:INSP), saw its shares soar on Tuesday, as it announced it had agreed a letter of support for the development of a Waste Heat Recovery system with Volvo Penta (STO:VOL-B).
The news followed a successful model design and application demo with the Swedish supplier of marine and industrial power solutions. And speaking on the support for the Inspirit Energy WHR system, Volvo’s SVP of Product Dev. Planning and Purchasing, Peter Granqvist, commented:
“Inspirit has an interesting proposition with the development of its Waste Heat Recovery technology which aligns with our own aims of increasing the efficiency of the engines we manufacture in support of Volvo’s Agenda 2030 sustainability objectives. On success of the application, we believe this proposal will enhance the development of innovative solutions that will unlock new market opportunities for us particularly for generator sets and marine engines.”
Inspirit says its WHR system utilises the company’s proprietary Sterling engine technology. Its compact nature allows it to be placed after catalytic converters in an exhaust system, with the energy being directly transferred as an electrical output.
The company added that during the demonstration, the heat recycling process increased engine efficiency by around 20%, driven by waste heat engine from an model such as the Volvo Penta D13 series. The Group adds that in addition to heat reduction, it expects the WHR system to significantly reduce noise.
Inspirit Energy stated that the letter of support validates its technology and underlines its ability to capitalise on the demand for environmentally-friendly and cost-saving products. It concluded its statement, saying that should the product continue to prove successful, it may lead to a test of the system in a Volvo engine, to confirm its efficiency and output.
Responding to the positive update, John Gunn, Chairman of Inspirit Group PLC commented:
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the team at Volvo Penta on the development of a waste heat recover system utilizing the Inspirit Sterling engine technology and the knowledge and technical expertise of our teams. We believe the technology will have applications in a wide range of other sectors including commercial and performance automotive, marine and solar and we are hopeful that this project will provide a gateway to working on future projects with the Volvo Group”.
Following the news, Inspirit Energy shares rallied around 140%, to 0.12p on Tuesday 03/11/20. This is the company’s highest level since November 2019, though notably short of its historical high of 2.83p in September 2013.