“The ORC technology precisely meets the requirements of our time,” says Jochen Fink. “Rather than depending on additional sources of fossil energy, we use available potential of waste heat to generate electricity. Our customers can use the electricity directly in their processes or feed it into the public power grid. For them, the ORC technology is a very attractive tool for increasing their energy efficiency.”
ORC systems from Dürr Cyplan can be used with many different sources of waste heat. The most attractive sources of waste heat at the moment are available all year round, with users receiving a special payment for the electricity they generate. These sources include stationary combustion engines that run on renewable resources, such as biogas systems, gas turbines or wood-fired furnaces. The higher the electricity prices and the greater the availability of the waste heat source, the quicker the return on investment in an ORC plant.
The fact that the ORC technology does what it promises is demonstrated by a multi-year field trial coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT from Oberhausen and funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics. Under the project, nine ORC field test systems of Dürr Cyplan have been running flawlessly, some for three years. The technology has therefore proved its stability in continuous operation.
Another milestone in the further development of the technology is the first system from Dürr Cyplan to be fully optimized for CHP operation (combined heat and power). It will commence operations in a biogas plant in Groß-Gerau in October.
“ORC modules for the high-temperature segment have been very poorly represented on the market so far,” explains CEO Frank Eckert. Dürr Cyplan fills this gap: “Our product range, which is based on standardized module sizes of between 50 and 500 kWel, is currently the only alternative to the use of waste heat for combustion engines from a power output of 500 kWel. The technology is suitable for operating a CHP with cooling water temperatures of up to 90°C, and gives users the possibility to retain existing heat utilization concepts.”
ORC plants from Dürr Cyplan impress not only users, but also political representatives. EU Energy Commissioner Günter Oettinger, Baden-Württemberg Minister Dr. Nils Schmid (Finance and Economy), Reinhold Gall (Interior) and Franz Untersteller (Environment) recently learned more about ORC and the expansion of Dürr’s activities in the area of energy efficiency. All of them agree: the increase in energy efficiency is a topic for today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow!
Dürr is a mechanical and plant engineering group that holds leading positions in the world market in its areas of operation. It generates a good 80% of its sales in business with the automotive industry. It also supplies the aircraft, machinery, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries with innovative production and environmental technology. The Dürr Group operates in the market with four divisions: Paint and Assembly Systems plans and builds paint shops and final assembly systems for the automobile and aircraft industry. Application Technology provides automatic paint application, sealing and glueing with its robot technologies. Machinery and systems from the Measuring and Process Systems division are used in balancing and cleaning processes, in engine and transmission manufacturing and in final vehicle assembly, among other areas. The fourth division, Clean Technology Systems, is focused on processes to improve energy efficiency and on exhaust air purification. Dürr has 50 business locations in 23 countries worldwide and approximately 7,300 employees. the Group achieved sales of € 1.9 billion in 2011.
