Three Rondo Heat Battery installations will decarbonize food,
clean fuel, and chemical production across Europe
LONDON, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the
Breakthrough Energy Summit, Rondo Energy, Breakthrough Energy
Catalyst, the European Commission, and the European Investment Bank
announced €75 million in funding that will support three
groundbreaking industrial decarbonization projects in Europe.
Rondo will use the funding (subject to the satisfaction of
funding conditions) to expand its European presence and build
projects delivering low-cost clean energy under long-term
contracts. Each project has been optimized to capture low-cost
intermittent energy from local and remote wind and solar resources,
to deliver "drop-in decarbonization" for producers of food and
beverage, clean fuel, and chemical production. The facilities will
deliver low-cost, continuous, high-pressure, zero-carbon steam and
power as a service.
"This project funding is a strong addition to our long-term
relationship with Breakthrough, and puts Rondo firmly on the path
to help eliminate the green premium for industrial heat
electrification and to become a fully bankable technology which can
be deployed at scale," said Eric
Trusiewicz, CEO of Rondo Energy. "The grant from
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst and the loan from the European
Investment Bank together underpin Rondo's development throughout
Europe, where we see very strong
tailwinds to the adoption of our technology."
Rondo Heat Batteries (RHBs) combine century-old materials and
cutting-edge automation to turn intermittent renewable electricity
into the continuous, high-temperature heat and power required by
industries.
"Rondo's technology offers industry a unique opportunity to
decarbonize with inexpensive renewable electricity," said
Mario Fernandez, Head of
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst. "Rondo's deployment is crucial at a
time when European manufacturers are urgently looking for ways to
eliminate their dependence on natural gas. We're proud to support
these important projects across Europe and to work with such great partners in
Rondo, the European Investment Bank, and the European Commission
who bring the commitment and vision to commercialize this critical
technology."
"The green transition requires massive investment for innovative
technologies to replace industrial processes based on fossil
fuels," said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. "With today's
announcement, we are writing the next chapter of the EU-Catalyst
partnership. We are delighted to support Rondo's first-of-a-kind
energy storage units. As the climate bank, we aim to finance many
more net-zero technologies that will provide clean and affordable
energy to power our industry and homes, while strengthening
Europe's competitiveness."
Drop-In Decarbonization for Covestro's Chemical
Production
Covestro, one of the world's leading manufacturers of
high-quality polymer materials and their components, has selected
Rondo to deliver clean energy services at a production facility in
Northern Germany. An RHB100 will
be delivering continuous steam powered by intermittent renewable
energy, contributing to Covestro's deep commitment to circularity
and decarbonization.
"As an innovation company, we are always excited when we can
further develop and test promising ideas that can bring us closer
to our goals of a circular economy and climate-neutral production,"
says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, CTO of
Covestro. "The heat battery is such an idea: a new technology that
allows us to go one step further on our way to a sustainable
future."
Heat battery replaces fossil fuels in GreenLab's green
industrial park
GreenLab is a pioneer green and circular industrial park in
Denmark, that works to demonstrate
how energy waste can be reduced in industry. Rondo will build a
"clean utilities core" supplying the companies in GreenLab with
green heat. An RHB100 powered by renewables will generate high
pressure steam to drive a CHP steam turbine generator cycle,
translating intermittent electricity into baseload heat and power
for multiple companies at the park.
One of the first companies in the park to benefit from Rondo's
heat battery will be using the green heat to produce low-carbon
biogas, eliminating the use of fossil fuels in the process. This
first installation will establish the performance, processes, and
tools needed to expand the clean utilities core at
GreenLab and to build other parks like this one powered by the
wind and the sun.
GreenLab CEO Christopher Sorensen
explains: "Industry accounts for approximately 25% of
energy-related carbon pollution globally, and 74% of industrial
energy use is tied to heat. At GreenLab, we work to reduce
industrial energy waste and CO2-emissions by demonstrating new
green technologies at scale. That is why Rondo's heat battery is a
perfect match for our industrial park. On a global level, powering
industrial heat with renewables and heat batteries can cut
CO2-emissions drastically, and we are happy to pioneer the solution
in our park in this first-of-its-kind fully commercial
project."
Decarbonizing Food & Beverage Production
Rondo will also build a third project that charges from on-site
and off-site solar, delivering deep decarbonization for a European
producer in the food and beverage sector, with further details to
be announced soon.
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst Creating New Energy
Infrastructure
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is bringing its expertise in
energy-infrastructure-investing and project-development to
accelerate the widespread deployment of emerging climate
technologies that can cut emissions without a green premium.
The deployment and learnings from its FOAK projects in
Europe will enable Rondo to
develop storage-as-a-service contracts that make clean industrial
heat and power cheaper than traditional fuels. These initial
projects set the stage to accelerate Rondo's delivery on its large
pipeline of global projects which will reduce industrial reliance
on gas and build sustainable, cost-effective energy solutions
across the world.
Strengthening Europe's
Energy Security
Rondo is a member of the Energy Resiliency Leadership
Group, which is working to open markets and speed the transition to
a clean energy infrastructure for Europe.
Each of these projects is an energy services project that
delivers long-term low-cost clean energy for an industrial
producer, reducing reliance on imported fossil fuel, cutting
regulatory risk, and improving their position as manufacturing
leaders in the 21st century.
"This funding is an example of what energy security looks like,"
said John O'Donnell, co-founder and
Chief Innovation Officer of Rondo Energy. "These projects bring
together Rondo's innovative technology with Catalyst and EIB's
innovative finance to power industry with the wind and the sun on a
permanently lower-cost basis."
"Europe urgently needs to
replace imported gas with domestic renewable energy," said
Ann Mettler, VP of Breakthrough
Energy Europe and co-leader of the Energy Resilience
Leadership Group. "Repowering our industries is a matter of climate
security, economic security, and national security. These projects
are proving that we can deliver this triple win now, with the right
technology, vision, and capital."
About Rondo Energy
Rondo is purpose-built for industrial facilities: Its Heat
Batteries are constructed from proven, durable materials and are
designed for seamless integration with existing industrial
equipment and processes. Whether deployed as a drop-in replacement
for retiring fossil-fueled heating equipment or as a resilient
complement to existing systems, Rondo requires no disruptive
changes to customers' operations.
Rondo currently operates the world's highest temperature,
highest efficiency commercial energy storage system, at Calgren
Renewable Fuels in Pixley,
California. Working with its partner Siam Cement Group
(SCG), Rondo is expanding the production capacity of its storage
media from its current 2 GWh/yr to an industry-leading 90 GWh per
year. Rondo Energy is headquartered in Alameda, California.
About Breakthrough Energy
Breakthrough Energy is a global network of climate leaders
committed to accelerating the world's journey to a clean energy
future. The organization funds breakthrough technologies, advocates
for climate-smart policies, and mobilizes partners around the world
to take effective action, accelerating progress at every stage.
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is a novel platform that funds and
invests in first-of-a-kind commercial projects for emerging climate
technologies. By investing in these opportunities, Catalyst seeks
to accelerate the adoption of these technologies worldwide and
reduce their costs.
The EU-Catalyst partnership was launched in 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow
with the aim to develop large-scale green tech projects based in
Europe and boost investments in
critical climate technologies.
Catalyst currently focuses on five technology areas: clean
hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel, direct air capture,
long-duration energy storage, and manufacturing decarbonization. In
addition to capital, Catalyst leverages the team's
energy-infrastructure-investing and project-development expertise
to work with innovators on advancing their projects from the
development stage to funding, construction and ultimately,
operations. Learn more about Breakthrough Energy and Catalyst at
breakthroughenergy.org.
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending
institution of the European Union. It finances sound investment
contributing to EU policy goals. As implementing partner of the
Commission under InvestEU, the EIB has been tasked to deploy up to
€420 million for the benefit of the EU-Catalyst partnership. These
funds are made available from both Horizon Europe, which has
committed €200 million, and the Innovation Fund, which has
committed €220 million. The EU-Catalyst partnership does not
exclude potential additional contributions from EU Member States or
other private partners that decide to further support the
projects.
About Covestro:
Covestro is one of the world's leading manufacturers of
high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its
innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps
enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas.
Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such
as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and
electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also
used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and
health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In
addition, Covestro aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope
1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group's Scope 3 emissions
are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. Covestro generated
sales of EUR 14.4 billion in fiscal
year 2023. At the end of 2023, the company had 48 production sites
worldwide and employed approximately 17,500 people (calculated as
full-time equivalents).
About GreenLab:
GreenLab is a green and circular industrial park. It was
established in 2019 to test, demonstrate, and accelerate the green
transition by improving the way renewable energy is produced,
converted, stored, and utilized. GreenLab shows the way for
breaking down energy silos and integrating energy systems. In
practice, this is done through GreenLab's SymbiosisNet™. GreenLab
has created the ideal conditions for connecting industrial
production with a new and innovative energy infrastructure,
research, and large-scale testing of new technologies.
www.greenlab.dk
https://www.linkedin.com/company/greenlabskive
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