Report on KIVI visit to production site of ECOVAT in Oss.

This visit is a follow up to the earlier visit to ECOVAT on September 21, 2018. For that visit reference is made to the relevant report on the KIVI site.

At that visit it was announced that the system would be realised in a special project in Arnhem and it was agreed that KIVI then would visit the building location to see the system becoming in operation.

Today our host is again Aris de Groot, founder and managing director of ECOVAT. He states that unfortunately the project in Arnhem is in delay because instead of the originally targeted 500 houses the project now is to cover only 250 houses. The control system, therefore, has to be reengineered.

Meanwhile he is even more convinced that in future the advantages of renewable energies can only be harvested to the full extent if flexible storage of energy is possible at economically attractive prices and lasting for various seasons. With the storage systems known today this is only possible for short periods and not economically acceptable.

As a solution to these problems the new company ECOVAT is promoting their innovative solution for heating and/or cooling of a residential area with their highly isolated water-cask of up to 30 meters high and a diameter ranging from 30 up to 48 meters. The use of a four-pipe system in the area enables the supply or storage of water for heating as well as for cooling of a number of houses equipped with e.g. solar panels. A very innovative valve and controlling system ensures proper operation and service to the connected houses.

For details of the system reference is made to the website ECOVAT

A copy of the presentation can be found unther "Documenten" at the website or requested at the organiser of the visit.

The entrance of the location still is clearly dominated by rows of construction parts intended for building the water-cask to be realised in the town of Arnhem. In the production hall the isolation walls originally were made by hand.

Today they are produced with a special robot system providing higher quality of the isolation. Logistic manager Ko Michelbrink explains why ECOVAT has chosen for a robot to improve the properties of the isolation walls.