MicroPower Global has announced an agreement with OSPRE, a UK-based electricity-from-waste company, to test MicroPower's energy-conversion devices at an OSPRE plant.
The agreement covers initial testing of MicroPower's devices at OSPRE's plant, followed by further evaluation and refinement and, subject to performance and price, gradual roll-out as new plants come on stream. OSPRE's modular plant design converts a range of feedstocks into a high-BTU gas for electricity generation, but significant waste heat is available at several points in the process. Integrating MicroPower's technology could capture and convert that waste heat, potentially increasing overall generation by as much as 10%.
Phase 1 of OSPRE's first UK plant, at Sutton, south of London, was scheduled to go live in early 2015, with the site expected to expand over the following years. OSPRE saw substantial potential demand for waste-to-energy plants of this kind across the UK and Europe.
OSPRE noted that MicroPower's technology could offer a stable, operationally efficient way to convert surplus waste heat into electricity, easy to integrate and low on maintenance and space demands, and that, subject to achievable price points, it could be included in OSPRE's standard plant configuration.
"The agreement with OSPRE gives us an ideal opportunity to demonstrate the efficiency of our devices at high temperature in an industrial setting," said Max Lewinsohn, MicroPower's Chairman. "We have been collaborating for over two years, and we are confident that successful implementation at the Sutton plant will lead to substantial long-term business."
About MicroPower: MicroPower Global develops advanced thermoelectric generators and cooling systems that convert industrial waste heat into clean electricity. With an international patent portfolio and third-party testing and validation across NREL, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, NIST, Bechtel-Bettis, and Texas State, MicroPower's technology operates at 3–5× the efficiency of any commercial alternative.