The following markets were investigated and are most attractive according to the findings of EN3’s feasibility study:
Internal Combustion (IC) Engines: Current forecasts assume a worldwide production of 237 million combustion engines in 2013. About 55 to 65% of the fuel’s energy in ICs is liberated as waste heat. EN3 identified stationary IC engines with focus on “Green CHPs” as the most promising entry market.
Industrial Waste Heat Recovery: Industrial waste heat is unused process energy released by dryers, kilns, furnaces, chemical reactors etc. The use of WHR systems could replace appr. 5 GW of conventional power plants in Germany.
Solid Biomass-To-Energy: Small scale solid biomass cogeneration plants can provide heat and electricity for the decentralized energy supply. According to the German Renewables Energy Agency there is a potential of 17 878 PJ of Energy in Europe, which may translate to as much as € 5.6 billion in yearly revenue.
Concentrated Solar Power Plants (CSP): According to the Swiss private bank Sarasin, an accumulated overall performance ratio 28 GW of Concentrated Solar Thermal Power Plants (CSP) might be installed until 2020. This corresponds to a market volume of € 35 billion.
Geothermal Electricity Generation: According to the US consultancy Pike Research, a quite conservative assessment estimates an increase from currently 10.7 GW in 2011 to 14.3 GW by 2020 assuming conventional technology as available today. This corresponds to a total market volume of € 4.1 billion.
Results: Stationary IC market and especially Green CHPs show excellent conditions in all relevant areas to be considered to a successful market entry. It generates an attractive Return On Investment (ROI) for investors, especially if the compensation for electricity fed into the grid stays stable. The requirements in terms of size, weight and price are achievable by EN3 in a short term and allow using standard components. Hence, the time to market is short.
The study showed that there is a great market potential in the European markets, especially in Denmark, Italy, France and the UK. We assume that 15 % of the total 13 800 biogas plants in Europe could be retrofitted by WHR systems. It takes the first place in EN3’s market entry evaluation.
