Ultimately, coal will be replaced by renewable energy. This is fantastic! Already now coal power plants are being converted to burn biomass: Denmark’s largest power station has replaced coal with wood chips and straw.
EnergyNest offers a solution not just during the transition to fully renewable electricity but will also remain an integral part of future sustainable power systems: ultra-low cost and directly integrated into the steam cycle. Only plants with the ability to rapidly adjust power output to follow variable renewable energy will matter in the future. Due to their low marginal cost and zero emissions, wind- and solar energy are bringing conventional power plants out of their comfort zone – from traditional, rigid “baseload beasts” to peaker plants. This implies more frequent starts/stops, cycling and operation at minimum power output. It also implies more stringent requirements for ancillary services.
Thermal power plants such as concentrating solar power (CSP), biomass and electricity from waste (EfW) have an important role to play in the full transformation from fossil to renewable electricity. This is because very few alternatives can provide security of supply. Thermal power plants maintain grid stability and provide power when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining, ensuring that the lights are always on.
To our customers, investors, partners, suppliers, fans, colleagues and their families… we’re wishing you relaxing holidays and a lot of energy for 2019!
Our CEO Dr Christian Thiel attended Cleantech Summit Energy Transition in Rotterdam today. The summit is an initiative of the Tech Tour and the International Venture Club (IVC) and was hosted by the City of Rotterdam. It focusses on showcasing the best investment opportunities within the cleantech industry in Europe. The event included insightful discussion panels and keynotes and Christian even got to meet the King of the Netherlands.
Today our CEO Dr Christian Thiel joined the 22nd Annual German Norwegian Energy Forum in Berlin. The forum took place in the Norwegian Embassy where 140 experts discussed ways to reach the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. It was widely agreed that a mix of energy sources and energy storage technologies will be necessary in order to achieve the goals and to ensure security of energy supplies.
Rotterdam, October 22nd, 2018 – Among innovative technology providers developing a thermal energy storage system, Norway-based cleantech company EnergyNest is currently one of the partners selected by multinational energy provider Enel for the analysis of the benefits and impacts of the integration of its technology in one of Enel’s numerous power generation assets. According to EnergyNest, impressive economic and climate-relevant figures could be achieved by the company’s latest thermal energy storage technology when integrated in full-scale: annual CO2 reduction of up to 45,000 tons, 14 million liters of fuel oil saved per year and project payback in less than three years.
The collaboration launched with EnergyNest gives Enel the chance to evaluate EnergyNest’s Thermal Energy Battery solution in real-life conditions and identify full-scale business-applications for the technology integrated into thermal power plants. The objective of the innovative project is to demonstrate how waste heat recovery in Thermal Energy Storage can increase flexibility and sustainability of thermal power plants. This activity will allow Enel to assess technology robustness, its potential contribution to increasing efficiency and its positive environmental impact.
Last week, EnergyNest officially unveiled its first Thermal Battery Module, produced in its new manufacturing hub in Europoort, Rotterdam, on the site of partner Mebin. Manufacturing for two commercial projects is now expected to start at the end of the year. EnergyNest’s innovative battery modules consist of locally-sourced, recyclable materials – framed steel pipes set with Heatcrete, a high-performance thermal-energy-storing concrete developed in partnership with HeidelbergCement, Germany’s multinational buildings material company.
Download the Press Release EnergyNest and Enel PDF
We had a great time at the HighTech Venture Days in Dresden this week. Our CFO Erik Diedrich presented our thermal battery storage technology to a packed audience. Many thanks to the organizers for the great program, and thanks to all who came to see us!
Yesterday we celebrated the unveiling of our first commercial Thermal Battery module in Europoort, Port of Rotterdam.
A big thank you to Enel, HeidelbergCement, Mebin, Siemens, Eni, Uniper, Apex Heat Transfer, DNV GL, Eneco, Tata Steel, Yara International, Life Size Media, all our team and many other guests for making the event simply amazing!
We are very much looking forward to addressing 50% of global CO2 emitters together – mainly power plants and industrial manufacturing – with this new type of battery.
We’d also like to thank our panellists who discussed innovation in the thermal energy market: Ronel Dielissen-Kleinjans, Managing Director of our Europoort production partner and host for the day, Mebin, Dr Volker Klapperich, Product Manager Foundation Engineering at HeidelbergCement, Valentina Ferrara, Open Innovation, Start-ups and Partnership Global Thermal Generation at Enel, and last but not least Stijn Santen, Dutch energy efficiency ambassador and owner of CO2-Net.
We were part of the Innovation Expo 2018 in Rotterdam on October 4. It was good to speak to our local partners and connect with representatives of energy-intensive industries.
The production process and shipping of our first commercial-size thermal battery module is successfully completed! We’d like to say a big thank you to our fantastic partners Mebin, Apex Heat Transfer and HeidelbergCement for making this a seamless, well standardized and super safe process.
The construction of the world’s first industrial-scale thermal battery has started! Our founder Dr Pål Bergan is at the Mebin fabrication site in Europoort, Port of Rotterdam, to observe the progress together with our VP Project Management Eva Bellido and VP Technology & Research Prof Nils Høivik.
Our first commercial thermal battery is in production. It will be made “only” of steel and the high-performance contrete Heatcrete®. This radical new technology helps industrial players, energy companies and various types of power plants to operate more energy-efficiently, more effectively (i.e. profits!) and to reduce CO2. Next, it will be transported to our Mebin manufacturing site in Europoort, Port of Rotterdam, for casting.
This view shows 63 thermal elements inside our TO6-7×9 steel cassette. Made of carbon steel piping, that works under pressure, and spirowound steel casing, they’re designed to be used with thermal oil as Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF). You can also see the spacers inside the spirowound casing, grabbing the piping, and ensuring that the piping remains in the right position during the next steps to follow: transport, casting and construction.
Our CEO Dr Christian Thiel recently visited Colegio Reina del Mundo, Lima’s German-Peruvian High School, to speak about the future of energy systems.
During the lively workshop students discussed current energy sources and debated the environmental threats of climate change as well as future opportunities for the environment and society. The students were particularly interested in fossil fuel conservation, renewable energies, the reduction of CO2 and energy storage as a key enabler, and shared ideas on how energy systems could be adjusted to make a positive contribution for future generations.
We believe in keeping things as simple as possible, especially with regards to our thermal battery – fast production, simple and safe construction and low-cost operation. Our steel cassette is “cast” with our solid-state storage material Heatcrete®. This process is low-risk and standardized for mass production.