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With so many of our customers now putting decarbonization at the heart of their operations, we’ve made it a priority to develop new technologies and partnerships that accelerate their moves in this direction. Let’s take a look.
Decarbonization is the main megatrend shaping our industry, while at the same time grids are becoming increasingly digitized and decentralized. This changing landscape is driving SFW to explore and innovate in energy generation, electrical and heat storage, carbon capture, the circular economy and more – all the areas that can help our customers transform their business.
Key to these efforts is the Innovation Program we established in 2018. It’s a dedicated forum that brings together people from across the company to work on challenges faced by our customers. The program has led to several new concepts and partnerships that diversify our portfolio.
Principal Engineer Eero Halikka manages the Innovation Program’s energy track. Halikka has worked in the Technology and R&D department at SFW and its predecessor for more than 20 years, so he’s been part of the industry’s shift towards decarbonization from the start.
Our innovation program is very important, as the energy sector is going through a transformation and we need to be able to respond to it. The program is a good way to involve people working in different departments and functions at SFW. It raises interest and shows that we can all affect the direction the company is going. I think we have done well, developing lots of out-of-the-box ideas beyond our core competence areas.
Energy storage takes a center stage
Many of the ideas coming out of the Innovation Program are in the area of energy storage. Through discussions with customers, SFW has identified two main industry challenges that the program is addressing.
The first challenge is around the issue of storing energy so that grids can cope with the variability inherent in renewable energy. The sun does not always shine, and the wind does not always blow – so energy providers need efficient ways to store renewable energy that can be dispatched into the grid when needed. This capability brings more stability to grids as they increase their share of renewables.
The other challenge concerns co-generation plants that produce power as well as heat. These plants are increasingly looking for ways to store both, as this allows them more flexibility in switching their production balance from one to the other in response to market demand and price elasticity. This challenge has been getting even more attention recently with the wild up and down swings in electricity prices.
R&D and Patents Director Edgardo Coda Zabetta says the demand for innovation in heat storage is also coming from other industry sectors.
The move towards energy-efficiency and a circular economy is driving interest in recovering waste heat from many industrial processes. Think of the steel industry, for example. It’s incredibly energy intensive and considerable portions of heat are still wasted. So we’re looking at ways to recover and store this waste heat and make it available where and when it’s needed. It’s important to recognize that there is no single energy-storage technology that will satisfy the whole market. We need to integrate the best options for each specific customer case.
Going big on Long Duration Energy Storage
The Innovation Program is looking closely at the integration of Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) with solutions that involve both power and heat, as well as that connect with the hydrogen economy.
SFW provides LDES through Liquified Air Energy Storage (LAES). The advantage with LAES is its ability to provide flexibility and stability in grids as renewables get added in a bid to achieve net-zero systems. The technology can also be integrated with other systems in the hydrogen economy.
Besides providing intra-day, weekly and seasonal flexibility – essential for increasing VRE (variable energy resources) – LAES is also location agnostic. The technology does not require geological formations such as caves or caverns, nor does it require elevated storage basins like compressed air storages and pumped hydro plants do.
We also see LAES playing a role in the integration of hydrogen carriers like ammonia, as the storage medium is air. It’s very easy to separate nitrogen and use an electrolyser to produce hydrogen. We already see this happening in certain places, as there is a big push for green hydrogen.
Highview is a startup with proprietary technology that has synergies with what SFW can offer. The company specializes in project development and origination, while SFW has established expertise in R&D, supply chain and project management, and execution. Together we can take Highview’s technology to the broader market.
SFW is now a leader in LAES thanks to a USD 46 million investment in the UK’s Highview Power. The investment is a direct result of work done in the Innovation Program.
Partnering in Sweden
For technology that’s optimized specifically to store heat, SFW is collaborating with Swedish energy-storage pioneer SaltX. The company has developed a thermo-chemical storage technique based on nanocoated salt. Charged salt can be moved from one location to another, which means that demand does not necessarily need to be met by production in the same location.
When we were looking at different partners, SaltX was one of the most interesting. Their technology provides the benefit of long-duration storage, which is important when you look at district heating.
One of the best things about SFW is its focus on R&D and innovation. I see people being passionate about looking into lots of different things. I think this is one of the strongest areas in the company.
SFW is now working on a 100-kilowatt pilot with SaltX where the energy-storage medium is calcium oxide – commonly known as quicklime. When water is added to lime, then it becomes hydrated and releases lots of energy in a closed-loop cycle.
SFW also has work ongoing with the chemical looping of metal-oxides. With minimal modifications, existing plants that used to burn fossil fuels can be repurposed to burn iron, producing similar amounts of energy with no emissions. Renewable energy like solar and wind can then be used to return the burned iron back to iron – to be burned indefinitely.
SFW is always open to discussions on collaboration, partnership and co-creation opportunities. We welcome you to get in touch with us.
Maria Hartikainen
Director, Decarbonization & Innovation
Sumitomo SHI FW
[email protected]