Before you decide on your contribution, you probably want to know, how we will utilize the collected money. As this is a rather complex project, it is quite natural that there are still unknowns. Therefore, we have divided the project into three stages.

1. Feasibility Study.

During this phase, we will decide on the cooperation partners in the “sunflower society.” This is important, as we plan to support their events with 5% of the contributions, we receive. It will secure our feedstock supply for the tests. 5% will go to Mr. Naoto Matsumura, the Guardian of the lost animals at Tomioka Town in the vicinity of the power plant. Another 5% of the contributions will go to the activities for children and senior citizens in the tsunami-affected region via DoCoDeMo Eco Car.

The item “Fund Collection” covers mainly currency exchange and fund transfer costs.

We will also need the advice of specialists from universities and the private sector, as well as consultants in terms of permits from the local government. As radioactive material is involved, and this kind of installation is a “first” in the country, we need to do this kind of preparation. As this is not a commercial installation, but a test unit, from experience, we expect that the threshold for permits is lower than for industrial plants.

In total, we expect that we have to spend about Yen 15 million (€150,000, $180,000) for this task. We may be able to start a part of the second phase activities already in this phase.

Residual funds will be used in the second phase.

2. Engineering

The results of the first phase will define the scope of engineering in the second phase. This will require the involvement of the manufacturer in Germany as well as local Japanese engineering sources. Again, as nuclear material is involved, we expect design changes to protect the operators during the tests.

We expect costs in the range of Yen 35 million (€350,000, $420,000)

3. Production, Construction and Operation

The test plant will be manufactured in Germany and will cost about €450,000 (Yen 45 million, $540,000).
Transporting it to and setting it up in Fukushima, provision of buildings, tanks and peripheral equipment, like dryers and shredders as well as the operation of the plant (two persons, three shifts) for two years will require an additional €550,000.

The plant will have a theoretical processing capacity of 1200 tons of bone-dry material in three-shift operation. However, as we intend to run various tests, especially during the first year of operation, this figure might be too optimistic. We expect a maximum of 1000 metric tons (1100 short tons) in three-shift configuration. If three shifts are not desired, due to personnel costs or similar, or are not feasible, the processing capacity could be lower.

If we can collect sufficient funds, we may be able to increase the capacity, say by 50l/h to 100l/h without doubling the purchase price (probably in the range of €600,000). As the number of operators stays the same, the operation costs would increase only marginally..

The whole project costs will be in the range of Yen 150 million (€1.5 million, $1.8 million), which will be used as shown in the following pie chart.

Required funds for the three phases