Currently, two thirds of the total energy consumed by the industrial sector consists of high-temperature heat, principally steam. The combustion of fossil fuels, such as natural gas, diesel or fuel oil, in industrial‑size boilers is currently the most widely-used method to generate this steam. However, in addition to the negative impact on profits of needing to buy the fuel, this process also releases CO2 into the atmosphere, which is a well-known greenhouse gas. The industrial sector is responsible for one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions due to this method of producing energy.
Uncontrolled emissions of greenhouse gasses are affecting our entire planet. Reducing these emissions is even one of the targets set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (target 9.4).
There are already alternatives out there that the industrial sector could be using.
Solar energy can be used to generate steam and is clean and free.
Concentrating solar power technologies are used to generate steam using solar power. These systems use mirrors to concentrate light and the heat produced then goes on to generate steam.
As such technology is usually constructed on site due to its complexity, it has so far only been used in large solar power plants and not in factories, meaning small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) continue to use fossil fuels and release emissions.
We spoke with Miguel Frasquet Herraiz, co-founder of Solatom, a social business that has developed a unit the size of a freight container that uses solar concentration to generate steam. These units come in one piece, meaning they are ready for use as soon as they arrive at a factory.
This unit makes concentrated solar power technology more accessible to SMEs, allowing them to use solar energy to generate their own power.
Most of the factories Solatom contacts are not aware that this technology exists. They think using solar power to generate the energy they need is impossible and cannot believe that they could be using sustainable methods to produce energy that would also reduce their costs. “The biggest challenge we face is that nobody knows anything about this technology,” Miguel said.
Despite the fact that not many companies know about concentrated solar power technologies, Solatom is achieving results. The organisation became active in 2016 and closed its first deal with a chemical plant located in the outskirts of Valencia, Spain, in 2017. The first commercial projects came in 2018, meaning Solatom is now active in various sectors, including the chemical, food and cork industries.
Solatom’s units generated 134,136.56kWh of clean, free energy during the first half of 2019, avoiding around 36,223kg of CO2 emissions.
In the second half of 2019, the business started exporting its product.
Solatom’s mission is to make power generation for industrial processes sustainable. Through its multidisciplinary team, their dedication and the support from organisations such as Ship2B, Solatom is reaching out to more and more SMEs every day, raising their awareness of this technology in industry.
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