Concentrated solar thermal and eTES offer breakthrough in industrial decarbonisation
Industrial decarbonisation in Australia took a major step forward today after Mars and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced a renewable heat project – with concentrated solar thermal (CST) at its heart – at its Mars Petcare Wodonga factory. The CST, in combination with other renewable heat technologies, will displace gas and see the site become Australia’s first large, steam-based food manufacturer in Australia to achieve a net zero emission process heat and electricity solution.
The Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI) provided expert technical assistance on CST deployment activities and attended a ceremony to launch the construction of the CST project along side the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen.
Director of ASTRI Dominic Zaal hopes the project is the first of many as industry sees it can decarbonise and reduce costs with the right combination of technologies. He said, “We want to congratulate Mars and the Australian Government for taking this important step which is a benchmark for industrial decarbonisation in Australia. Many companies have already reduced emissions from electricity use through solar or PPAs, and we are now entering the next phase of decarbonisation, looking at how we address emissions from the heat required in many industrial processes.”
Industry accounts for 44% of Australia’s total energy use, with over 50% of this energy for process heat applications. The level of decarbonisation in Australia and globally is less than 5% for process heat, compared to around 40% for electricity.
“What the Mars Petcare Wodonga project shows is that not only do proven solutions exist, but they can reduce costs, create jobs and increase Australia’s energy security by reducing dependence on gas”, Mr Zaal added.
Mars Petcare Wodonga is achieving net zero by 2026 by combining CST, electric thermal energy storage (eTES) and renewable hydrogen.
The CST project involves the installation of an 18MW renewable heat system, which utilises a parabolic trough solar collector system, with between 60 to 150 MWh of storage, delivering up to 10 hours of thermal storage. The parabolic trough collectors will convert the sun’s energy into heat at approximately 240°C, which will be stored and used to generate steam for manufacturing 24/7.
The system will generate enough energy per annum to displace 50% of the site’s gas. This gas displacement is equivalent to the average annual gas use of over 2,000 households.
Dr Keith Lovegrove, a Director of the Australian Solar Thermal Energy Association (AUSTELA), said, “this is a major milestone for CST as the first commercial deployment of the technology for steam-based manufacturing in Australia. Systems like this are deployed successfully overseas and show an important use case for CST alongside dispatchable electricity generation and green fuel production. Today’s announcement shows how CST works in combination with other technologies, and is set to have its moment in the Australian sun.”
In addition to CST, Mars has also installed an eTES demonstration system on site. This system, manufactured in Australia by Graphite Energy, has now been in operation for over 12 months. The system uses low-cost grid-connected renewable electricity to generate and store thermal energy. Given Victoria’s low wholesale electricity prices, the Mars eTES system is able to generate process heat cheaper than natural gas. The site is moving to install a larger eTES system on-site, which will displace approximately 40% of the site’s current gas usage.
The final 10% of gas abatement will be delivered through a hydrogen purchase agreement (HPA) with the Hydrogen Park Murray Valley Plant. This HPA will see Mars purchase over 70,000 GJ of green hydrogen, which would then be blended (10% mix) into the existing gas distribution network.
The CST project cost is AUD $39.3 million, with ARENA contributing AUD $17.2 million and Mars the remaining AUD $22.1 million.
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