Opcon and CoGen in co-operation to bring CO2-free electricity from waste heat to Australia
Opcon, the Swedish energy and environmental technology Group, has signed a cooperation agreement with Australian CoGen Power (CoGen) for the sale and marketing of the Opcon Powerbox for production of CO2-free electricity from waste heat throughout Australia.
CoGen Power is a newly created “green tech” Company specialising in the application of waste heat recovery in conjunction with the Opcon Powerbox to generate complementary and base-load power. CoGen’s aim is to install a minimum of 170 MW of this zero fuel, zero emission generation capacity within five years. Each Opcon Powerbox generates up to 0,7 MW of CO2-free electricity.
CoGen has been incorporated to design and commission waste heat recovery systems initially focusing on a 2.3 million square kilometre area, roughly five times the size of Sweden, covering the Kimberly, Pilbara, Gasgoyne, Mid West and Southern Goldfields regions that are off the South Western Interconnected Grid (Western Australia). The target market consist of mines and remote regional centres/communities, the majority being supplied by on-site, fossil fuel electricity generation systems where fuel only costs for electricity production amounts to 32 cents AUD/kWh / 1,80 SEK/kWh .
“Just in the State of Western Australia we are looking at more than 300 operating mines off the grid that use their own, costly power generation facilities. On the average mine site there is room for one or two Opcon Powerboxes. At large Iron Ore operations with 40 MW generation capacity or greater, there is room for up to eight Opcon Powerbox units. And that is just in the mining sector. Add all regional centers/communities in remote areas that are powered by fossil fuel burning generator systems and you see the scope of what savings this green technology can bring both to our customers as well as to the environment”, says Ross Smith, Managing Director of CoGen.
“With a waste heat recovery system installed recovering mega watts (MW) of otherwise lost thermal energy using the Opcon Powerbox, CoGen is bringing new zero fuel, zero emission electricity to Australia. We plan to install a minimum of 170 MW of this zero fuel, zero emission generation capacity within five years”, says Ross Smith, Managing Director of CoGen.
Opcon Powerbox produces new carbon-free electricity from waste heat at temperatures as low as 55°C and can be installed in large process-industry plants, power stations or with adaption onboard larger ships. By utilizing waste heat, electricity is produced from a source that would otherwise go to waste.
“This cooperation with CoGen with their strong connections to the mining industry provides Opcon with a knowledgeable and focused partner within Australia with its large distances and high electricity prices. The performance of our carbon-free electricity generating Opcon Powerbox will be very attractive to all these off the grid customers. It is also another example of how Opcon step by step is increasing our international presence and building a market for our new waste heat recovery technology”, says Rolf Hasselström, CEO, Opcon AB.
“CoGen’s initial aim to target all these power generating sites off the grid that produce electricity at very high costs makes them the low-hanging fruit within the Australian energy market. But it is just the tip of the ice-berg. Waste heat is a huge, largely untapped potential for producing new electricity around the world. According to the US Department of Energy there is more waste heat available in American industry than all of the electricity produced from all renewable energy sources in the US put together – which is an indication of the potential of this new technology”, continues Rolf Hasselström.
“This is true zero pollution, zero emission energy. The fuel to create it is already paid for and consumed, and by definition we are only dealing with the waste heat that is otherwise lost. If applied in a blanket manner across future commercial onsite distributed energy systems, waste heat recovery also becomes a nation-wide pollution solution by reducing the total carbon emissions by up to 30 percent, produced in fossil fuel burning power stations”, says Ross Smith, Managing Director of CoGen.”