Turboden SpA

Large Heat Pumps are at the forefront of the strategy for the electrification of heat in an increasingly decarbonised power grid. Through the supply of Large Heat Pumps Turboden wishes to play a broader role in the decarbonisation of the District Heating sector and of some energy-intensive industrial processes.

FIELDS OF APPLICATION

• DISTRICT HEATING & COOLING
• ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES

HEAT SOURCES

• WATER SOURCE (surface water, wastewater, groundwater)
• AIR SOURCE
• FLUE GASES (waste to energy, waste heat recovery)
• SOLAR HEAT

MHI BEHIND TURBODEN LHP
Beside their Supply Chain, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) grants Turboden with access to specialist consultancy, particularly on important R&D aspects (e.g. the first 16 MW ORC turbine).

MHI supports Turboden in the development of the new Turboden Large-scale Heat Pump, through their two divisions: MHI Thermal Systems, MHI R&D and potentially also through MHI Compressor Corporation.

Turboden gas expander is a solution to enhance the energy efficiency of a natural gas network infrastructure, producing electricity by taking advantage of the reduction of gas pressure from the delivery level to the one required by users, be they residential or industrial.
Unlike the reduction stations (still present in by-pass to the turboexpander, for safety reasons, as a redundant system), the turboexpanders exploit the pressure drop to produce electricity, improving the energy efficiency of the entire gas distribution system.

KEY POINTS

• Design based on 40 years of experience, leveraging Mitsubishi Heavy Industries support
• Long experience in the energy efficiency sector
• Profit generation while reducing the gas pressure
• Solution for natural gas network decarbonisation
• Unmanned installations, thanks to specific technology features
• Turn-key equipment capabilities
• Over 60 Turboden turbine models within the 390 power plants fleet

The ORC unit is a system based on a closed-loop thermodynamic cycle for the generation of electric and thermal power, especially suitable for distributed generation. ORC systems can generate electric and thermal power exploiting multiple sources, such as renewables (biomass, geothermal energy, solar energy), traditional fuels and waste heat from industrial processes, waste incinerators, engines or gas turbines.

THE RANKINE CYCLE
The Rankine Cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that converts heat into work. The heat is supplied to a closed loop, which typically uses water as working fluid. The Rankine Cycle based on water provides approximately 85% of worldwide electricity production.

The Organic Rankine Cycle's principle is based on a turbogenerator working as a conventional steam turbine to transform thermal energy into mechanical energy and finally into electric energy through an electrical generator. Instead of generating steam from water, the ORC system vaporizes an organic fluid, characterized by a molecular mass higher than that of water, which leads to a slower rotation of the turbine, lower pressures and no erosion of the metal parts and blades.

Turboden SpA