Access Energy Introduces New Extra Low Temperature Waste Heat Recovery System

November 18, 2013

Cerritos, Calif. – Access Energy announced today the product launch of its Thermapower™ Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) 125XLT system, which can recover waste heat with temperatures as low as 80 Degrees C. The system produces 125 kW of clean power from low temperature heat generated by small scale commercial and industrial applications.

The 125XLT is the latest product to be introduced in Access Energy’s ORC product line, which has over 20 MW of installed capacity worldwide.

“There is an enormous amount of heat being expelled into the atmosphere from a wide range of industrial processes, everything from food processing to steel production. There is also a need to produce power from low temperature renewable energy sources, such as geothermal and solar thermal heat,” said Herman Artinian, Vice President of Business Development. “Our new XLT system is the first of its kind to be designed specifically to capture this excess heat and produce the most power possible from any given heat source.”

Facilities utilizing the 125XLT can consume the power generated onsite or sell it back to their utility company, providing significant value to the businesses themselves and local residents, particularly those affected by power shortages.

Access Energy’s Thermapower™ system employs a Carefree™ Integrated Power Module (IPM), engineered and produced by Access Energy’s parent company Calnetix Technologies. The Carefree™ IPM consists of an integrated high-speed turbo expander and high-efficiency generator that runs on magnetic bearings in a hermetically sealed housing to produce up to 125 kW of utility grade power. The IPM requires no lubrication, lubrication system or seals, providing minimal maintenance and no possibility of leaks between rotating parts.

In addition to the Carefree™ IPM, the ORC module includes Calnetix’s proprietary power electronics unit, which allows for voltage and frequency fluctuation to match local grid requirements, a proprietary magnetic bearing controller, a program logic controller, a variable speed controlled pump and associate piping, and an environmentally safe organic working fluid.

In operation, the heat source transfers energy into the ORC system, which evaporates and pressurizes the organic working fluid. The pressurized fluid enters the Carefree™ IPM, where expansion of the fluid drives a turbine to generate electrical power. Following expansion, the working fluid is condensed and fed to the pump to repeat the cycle.

Access Energy is offering its Thermapower™ product for sale to experienced end users in geothermal, marine, incineration and other industrial processes that produce waste heat or to equipment manufacturers for integration into end products for these applications.

The core technologies comprising the Thermapower™ ORC Module have been used for heat recovery in various applications in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia since 2009 under Calnetix and its distributors and licensees.