Interview with Paolo Bertuzzi, Managing Director & CEO of Turboden
Plant in Kirchstockach, Germany (source: Turboden)
Alexander Richter
15 Oct 2015
As speaker of the GeoPower & Heat Summit in Istanbul/ Turkey, Dec. 1-2, 3015, the MD and CEO of Turboden provides some insights into his company and view on the industry.
In a recent interview with the organisers of the GeoPower & Heat Summit, which will take place December 1-2, 2015 in Istanbul, Turkey, the Managing Director and CEO of Turboden provides some insights into his company and view on the industry.
What are your key objectives for the next year?
Our key objective for the next years is the implementation of business plan strategies, in line with the company vision: to be leader in the development of ORC advanced solutions for geothermal and other applications, such as biomass, heat recovery and waste to energy. We will confirm our leadership in the market, thanks to superior experience and reliability demonstrated during our history, with more than 300 plants worldwide.
Where do you see the opportunity in Geothermal power over the course of the next 3-5 years?
We see plenty of opportunities in the geothermal global market, especially for projects based on binary solution. The most interesting markets are Turkey and South East Asia, but also Europe (we have just secured an important 16 MW project in Croatia), Americas, and East Africa.
What countries does Turboden currently have customers in? How do you see this evolving in the next 3-5 years?
Turboden’s customer base ranges over more than 30 countries in the world. Thanks to our network band and to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries we are currently covering the whole globe either commercially and in terms of possibility to render appropriate services to our customers.In the next 3-5 years, we will strengthen our presence, cooperating with our customers in various geographies and confirming that Organic Rankine Cycle is an excellent solution to exploit geothermal fields. Coupled with flash solution provided by Mitsubishi, our product line can cover all the needs of “geothermal customers”.
What do you consider as the main challenges to stakeholders in the Geothermal power industry?
Main challenges for geothermal are not related to the power-generation technology. As of today either flash and binary technologies are well established and mature, having achieved a high degree of competitiveness in terms of performance and cost. Main issues often relate to the financing of the projects, a good knowledge of the underground resource and a knowledge management of the operation and optimization of the overall geothermal plant during its life. These aspects make the difference between a successful geothermal business and a “good business plan not transformed in actual numbers in the execution”. That is the reason why it is very important to rely on suppliers that demonstrated to deliver results and actual numbers of high availability. About this point, Turboden ORC fleet has over 98% of availability with more than 7,500 GWh of operation.
What do you anticipate will be the biggest game changers for the Geothermal power industry?
The continuous improvement of the binary technology will allow such technology getting more and more importance in terms of market shares in the geothermal power generation scenario. This enables the possibility to exploit “difficult” resources that were not taken into account in the past, opening new possibilities for geothermal also in new areas.
About this point, for example, Turboden is joining a very promising Research Project financed by EU NER300 program aiming at producing zero CO2 emission green power starting from geothermal aquifer with high content of methane, combining different technologies. The first project will be implemented in the next future, and if successful, many other similar projects will follow.
To learn more about the event in Turkey, see the event website at: http://www.geopowersummit.com/
Source: GeoPower Event Website
