Orcan Energy achieves major coup in the cement market

 

Orcan Energy wins the global building materials supplier CEMEX as a customer and thus continues its growth course in the energy-intensive cement market.

Munich, 06.12.2021 - Orcan Energy, leading manufacturer of solutions for the utilization of waste heat, has won the global building materials supplier CEMEX as a new customer for its waste heat solutions, the so-called efficiency PACKs. Six Orcan modules will soon be installed at the CEMEX site in Germany. Orcan Energy is thereby establishing itself in the global cement market.

With the plant modernization, CEMEX plans to generate additional electricity at its cement plant in Rüdersdorf and to improve its eco-balance through sustainable energy generation.

The planned efficiency PACKs of the particularly powerful eP I 150.200 class will lead to savings on the existing cooler and convert the - previously unused - waste heat generated during cement production on site into a total of up to 8,150 megawatt hours of electricity per year. At the same time, they reduce the cement plant's CO2 emissions by around 3,500 tons.

The implementation of Orcan Energy's efficiency PACKs is an important milestone in CEMEX's efforts to achieve climate neutrality. An international roll-out of the plant concept as a blueprint for other Cemex sites is being prepared.

CEMEX is Orcan's third customer in the cement industry. The first installation was at Gottfried Tonwerke, which won the DENA Efficiency Award 2019 with Orcan Energy. Following the introduction of the new, particularly high-performance efficiency PACK class for energy-intensive industries, Wittekind Zement became the first major cement plant to choose Orcan solutions. With the signing of a contract for CEMEX's largest German cement plant in Rüdersdorf, an international global player is now also among Orcan Energy's customers to save energy costs and reduce its emissions effectively and quickly.

"Cement plants worldwide are looking for innovative net zero technologies to decarbonize their production facilities. Our efficiency PACKs now offer, for the first time, the opportunity to help an industry, where CO2 emissions are difficult to avoid, to decarbonize - simply, reliably and cost-effectively.  With our partner E.ON, we offer financed solutions, saving the customer money from day one of operation," comments Andreas Sichert, CEO of Orcan Energy on this step.

Daniel Joisten, Head of Innovation Commercialisation from E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions adds: "Orcan Energy's waste heat solutions are mature, reliable and scalable, making them an ideal fit for our corporate decarbonization strategy. In energy-intensive industries such as cement, they quickly achieve major effects. With interesting financing offers and as a service provider for these projects, we help industrial companies to make their processes climate-friendly."

The efficiency PACKs work like a steam power plant, except that an organic liquid is used to drive the turbines instead of water, which evaporates even at low temperatures. This principle - called "Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)" - uses Orcan Energy`s waste heat technology and makes waste heat usable wherever it is generated. Orcan`s efficiency PACKs are already being used in industry, at geothermal plants or ships to generate electricity. Since 2019, Orcan Energy and E.ON have been jointly offering Orcan Energy's efficiency PACKs in a contracting model. This means that E.ON supplies its customers safely, CO2-free and cost-effectively with electricity generated by Orcan Energy's waste heat solutions at the customer's site. From planning to installation, financing, operational management and maintenance of the plant, E.ON takes over the energy supply as a complete, customized package.

Given the gigantic waste heat potential in the cement industry worldwide, waste heat solutions could generate a total of 82,000 gigawatt hours of electricity worldwide - equivalent to the consumption of 25 million 3-person households per year - and save 36 million tons of CO2.

"The global cement market is huge. At Orcan Energy, we see it as our duty to ensure that cement plants are equipped to be more climate-friendly," says Dr. Andreas Sichert.

 

About E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions

Energy Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) the third pillar of E.ON's business. As a long-term energy partner for cities, municipalities, and industry, EIS helps develop solutions for all types of sustainability requirements. Core offerings include generation facilities for large industrial and manufacturing customers, district heating and cooling networks, neighborhood and industrial/commercial customer solutions, and energy efficiency products and services. In total, EIS has over 1.5 million customers with approximately 4,000 employees and approximately 4,100 facilities producing 19 terrawatt hours of heating, cooling and steam and 12 terrawatt hours of electricity.