Turboden of Italy Receives First Order for Binary Cycle Power Generation Equipment for Natural Gas Pipeline GCS in Egypt

TOKYO, Feb 16, 2021 – (JCN Newswire) – Turboden S.p.A., a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) based in Lombardy, Italy, has received an order for two sets of 14-megawatt (MW) binary cycle power generation equipment to be installed in a gas compression system (GCS) that drives the gas turbines supporting compression of natural gas in a pipeline located in Dahshour, Egypt. The equipment utilizes Turboden’s proprietary ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) system(Note) making effective use of the gas turbines’ waste heat.

In the system being newly installed by Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Co. (GASCO), the binary cycle power generation equipment will generate 28MW of power using the waste heat from four existing gas turbines and a gas turbine to be newly supplied by Siemens Energy of Germany. The new configuration will improve the GCS’s compressed gas capacity and overall efficiency, thereby helping to reduce CO2 emissions. In addition to creating 192 gigawatts (GW) of power per annum and using it to drive the electrical compressor, the configuration will conserve the more than 65 million cubic meters (m3) of natural gas per year that has been used until now. It will also enable a reduction of 120,000 tons per year (tpy) of CO2 equivalent to a CO2 absorption volume corresponding to a forested area 6 times the size of Manhattan.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is carrying out a five-year decarbonization program focused on modernizing equipment and achieving greater energy efficiency, and under this program the EBRD will increase investments into projects that drive economic progress based on green, low-carbon and renewable energies. The EBRD believes the project in Dahshour has great potential to help achieve a low-carbon society in Egypt and boost its economy, and it has already arranged to fund the project as part of its decarbonization program.

Going forward, MHI, as a global corporation pursuing the provision of a broad spectrum of high-efficiency power generation and energy systems, will work closely with Turboden to contribute through expanding adoption of binary cycle power generation equipment to a sustainable energy mix on a global scale.

The key component of Turboden’s binary cycle power generation equipment is an ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) turbine that uses low-boiling-point organic matter (fluorocarbon, hydrocarbon, etc.) as the boiling medium. The generation system can use relatively low-temperature heat sources such as biomass, factory waste heat and geothermal energy. This equipment can generate up to 40MW of power and can be easily installed outside fuel-producing regions or at inland, desert or island locations lacking water resources. Power can be generated stably, without interference from weather factors.