FLAmeless, affordable & high efficiency MIcro turbine system for sustainable residential COgeneration

Project Information

FLAMINCO

Grant agreement ID: 946903

DOI

10.3030/946903

Project closed

EC signature date 19 March 2020

Start date 1 April 2020

End date 30 June 2023

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 1 923 888,75

EU contribution

€ 1 346 722,13

Coordinated by

MITIS
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FLAMINCO (FLAmeless, affordable & high efficiency MIcro turbine system for sustainable residential COgeneration)

Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2023-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Scientists have long been trying to find ways to reduce reliance on oil and fossil fuels. Heat pumps offer a device that extracts heat, providing an alternative to fossil fuels, producing clean energy while saving on costly budgets. FLAMINCO isr an ultra-efficient gas heat pump that consists of a micro combined heat and power unit,mainly power by natural gas, and gas mixtures, providing an average efficiency of 160%. Development of this system allows for integration into smart grids.
The building energy consumption in Europe represents 40% of the total consumed energy and contributes to 38% of GHG emissions. 79% of this energy consumption comes from heating, cooling and domestic hot water production which depends on fossil fuels. The European target of net zero emissions by 2050 is very ambitious for the building sector when we consider the low level of deep building renovation and the large stock of scarcely insulated and old buildings. Full electrification using heat pumps for heat production in buildings is probably not possible to be supported by the current grid transmission system and electric production capabilities. The necessity for implementing hybrid heating technologies running on renewable fuels is an attractive mean to decarbonize the heating sector. Decentralized micro-CHP presents advantages as heat is not wasted and there is no loss in the electricity transportation. Integrated into smart grids, decentralized production increases the global efficiency of the energy production. Through FLAMINCO, MITIS has been able to accelerate the development of a micro-CHP based microturbine system connectable to a heat pump It is an ultra-efficient gas heat pump consisting of an innovative micro combined heat and power – microturbine unit, a state-of-the-art heat pump and a condensing water boiler. It may be powered with natural gas, biogas or H2 and gas mixtures. It provides up to 135 kWth. A smart control system makes the 3 involved technologies always work in the most cost-efficient way, ending with a yearly average efficiency of 160%. This system is ready for integration into smart grids and considers temporary costs and carbon intensity of electricity to decide the working mode. FLAMINCO targets 15-20 apartment buildings. End-users may reduce gas use by 30%, what translates into economic savings and CO2 reduction with a payback of 4 years. Maintenance costs will also be lower than other micro-CHP technologies based on combustion engines or fuel cells

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The core of the FLAMINCO system is a high efficiency microgasturbine producing 10kW of electricity. The system has been developed and optimized starting from a preliminary architecture of a 1.5 kWe microgasturbine. The system was designed based on foil aerodynamic air bearings to allow an oil-free operation and hence low maintenance, which is one of the USP of this system. Complex rotordynamics issues occurred during testing and required a lot of invested resources to solve. Eventually, it was decided to design a new rotor coupled with new bearings which is now functional and demonstrated sustained operation at nominal speed of 110 kRPM for many hours..
The coupling of the microgasturbine with the condensing boiler and heat pump was investigated by modelling. A prototype R1234yf heat pump was developed and tested. Subsequently the natural refrigerant R-290 was adopted for its low GWP and toxicity levels and a new heat-pump was developed and its performance demonstrated. The electric efficiency of the microgasturbine should reach 23.8%. Heat pump COP in condition A7W35 was shown to be 3.9. Theoretical combined efficiency would then lead to a GUE of 189% considering the smart integration of the microturbine with the heat pump with exhaust gas recycling in the heat pump to retrieve all heat in the microturbine flue gas.
Very low noise levels were noticed during testing of the full microturbine compared to open inlet and exhaust ducts testing.
The flameless combustor of the micro gas turbine has been optimised during the project. Based on experiments, it gives a maximum 1 ppm of NOx emissions, we can calculate the emissions of NOx for the combined system of microturbine with heap pump running at A7W35 to be 12.51 mg-eq/kWh -fuel. This means that the FLAMINCO system will emit pollutants about an order of magnitude at least lower than competing ICE technologies.
MITIS has significantly increased its manufacturing capabilities, management of its supply chain and overall quality organization during the project.
Detailed analysis cost of the FLAMINCO system was performed, but Industrialization efforts beyond the project will be required to bring down the current BOM cost to a competitive market price. In addition, certification of the microgasturbine and heat pump was initiated with KIWA and it´s on going.
The project results were disseminated at several fairs in 2022 Pollutec (France), MEE2023-Dubai and Hannover Messe 2023. Communication was performed through a new web site and many discussions with potential prospects and customers, who helped drafting the sales and commercialization plan. 2 new patent application were submitted, 1 already granted for Belgium and analyzed for PCT extension.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

It is known that our civilization accumulated emissions of GHG since the industry revolution are causing significant impact on our climate.
Despite the successive COP conferences on climate changes, and IPCC warnings, worldwide efforts to combat the climate change remain limited. COVID pandemic and the recent attack of Russia on Ukraine have been causing a serious energy crisis in Europe, with important social impact in Europe.
Additionally, recent catastrophic droughts and floodings in Europe have eventually pushed the EU to lead on fighting climate change deciding a reduction of 55% of GHG by 2030 through the FitFor55 and the RePowerEU programs, both focus on renewables energies and energy efficiency.
The new directive on Energy Performance in Building discussed at the European Parliament confirms that strong measures will be undertaken to ban conventional gas boilers for heating buildings in very short term.
FLAMINCO is such a hybrid heating system which combines a micro-CHP powered microturbine with an efficient heat pump. The microturbine is fuel flexible and adapts to natural gas and liquid fuels such as conventional fossil based diesel and gasoline but also renewables ethanol, methanol or other specific HVO and HPO derived fuels, LPG and biogas.
FLAMINCO targets the segment of collective buildings such as retail shopping malls, rest homes, swimming pools, sports centers, spas, hotels, schools and multifamily residential building. Being FLAMINCO a more versatile system than a gas heat pump since it can be used to also produce electricity for the consumer, e.g. without using the heat pump such as other competitors´ solutions in the market.
Increased environmental sensitivity in Europe and North America is an important driver in growing demand for CHP systems. FLAMINCO aims to cover this demand targeting climate concerned people who aims to reduce their environmental footprint. Many of these people already use condensing boilers powered by natural gas. While the latest models reach outstanding efficiencies of up to 98%, FLAMINCO provides a global GUE over 150%. Therefore, needs in the market are still relevant and solution provided by FLAMINCO is still relevant and meaningful.

micro10 microgasturbine alphaversion

R290 DC scroll powered heat pump

Flaminco Microchp unit_10 kWe

FLAMINCO microchp TRL 6 test cell

TRL 5 flameless combustor test bench