ORC systems supplier ElectraTherm has been acquired by manufacturer of refrigeration compressors
The Power+ unit of Electratherm on site in Beppu, Japan (source: Electratherm)
Alexander Richter
30 Jan 2017
ElectraTherm, a supplier of small scale ORC power generation units has been acquired by Bitzer, a large independent manufacturer of refrigeration compressors. ElectraTherm has built three small scale geothermal plants in Japan, Nevada and Romania.
As announced in a joint release by both parties, ElectraTherm announces that BITZER, the world’s largest independent manufacturer of refrigeration compressors, has acquired the company.
ElectraTherm has made itself a name for distributed, waste heat to power generation with small scale ORC units.
ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generator™ utilizes waste heat on applications such as internal combustion engines, biomass boilers, flare gas (at oil and gas wells, wastewater treatment plants and landfills), geothermal/co-produced fluids, and more. ElectraTherm’s Power+ fleet exceeds 50 machines in operation in 12 countries and has surpassed 75 years of runtime.
ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generator uses Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology to capture waste heat and convert it to clean electricity. Hot water is the only fuel consumed by the Power+. The waste heat is used to produce a high pressure vapor that expands through ElectraTherm’s twin screw power block, spinning an electric generator to produce fuel-free, emission-free power to be consumed on site or exported to the grid. After turning the expander, the vapor is condensed back into liquid through a liquid loop radiator. The Power+ produces power from an unutilized resource, increases site efficiency and can also reduce site cooling loads.
“Developing energy-efficient solutions is one of our main goals – and the waste heat to power market offers tremendous potential”, says Peter Narreau, President of BITZER North America. “ElectraTherm’s ORC technology enables us to make better use of the abundant, and untapped resource of waste heat. This builds on BITZER’s commitment of responsible climate protection. There are clear synergies in our markets and technologies, and we are eager to combine our efforts to further grow our respective markets.”
“With BITZER’s expertise in refrigeration and compressor technology, ElectraTherm is a natural fit,” says John Fox, ElectraTherm’s Managing Director. “We see a powerful opportunity to grow our position as the leader in waste heat to power with our best-in-class product and team by leveraging BITZER’s excellent reputation and global presence.”
ElectraTherm was established in 2005 and leads the industry in low temperature distributed waste heat recovery. A list of reference sites is currently available on the website.
Having stumbled across the company for the first time at a GEA Expo I think it was back in 2009, I was impressed by the small ORC units developed by the company. Today, the company has built small scale ORC units utilising geothermal energy in Japan, Nevada and Romania.
I wish the team of ElectraTherm all the best and hope they will continue their work under new ownership.
Source: Release by email
