Demonstration venture will exchange pure gasoline with zero-emission photo voltaic vitality for manufacturing of Oberon’s rDME® gas
SAN DIEGO – June 13, 2023 – The U.S. Division of Power is funding an illustration of Sunvapor’s photo voltaic steam and thermal battery expertise to additional decrease the Carbon Depth (CI) of the renewable dimethyl ether (DME) produced by Oberon Fuels at its Maverick Innovation Heart in Brawley, California. The demonstration venture will cut back the quantity of pure gasoline at present used throughout manufacturing and exchange it with zero-emission photo voltaic warmth.
Comprised of renewably-sourced supplies, Oberon’s rDME® gas is utilized by greater than 450 corporations searching for to cut back emissions from propane-powered automobiles together with forklifts and vehicles. The low-carbon gas is mixed into conventional fossil propane and saved, distributed and utilized in current propane tools and engines with out modification.
Sunvapor’s photo voltaic thermal platform harnesses the photo voltaic vitality to provide steam on the excessive temperature and strain required by the Oberon course of. Extra vital for this demonstration, nevertheless, is the inclusion of a first-of-a-kind photo voltaic thermal battery, known as a Bullet Steam Accumulator™ or BSAT™ which can allow Oberon to run its course of repeatedly – even after the solar has set. By lowering using pure gasoline, Oberon Fuels will additional cut back the carbon depth of the completed gas.
Sunvapor has been efficiently working the nation’s solely industrial photo voltaic steam producing system for greater than a yr for a meals processor within the California Central Valley. The venture at Oberon extends the Sunvapor photo voltaic boiler expertise platform by including thermal vitality storage.
“The 24-hour runtime surroundings of commercial websites similar to Oberon’s presents particular challenges to photo voltaic steam options, which is why the addition of our Bullet Steam Accumulator will probably be such a key element of the demonstration,” mentioned Philip Gleckman, Ph.D., Chief Government Officer at Sunvapor. “We sit up for displaying a path in the direction of zero-emissions industrial course of warmth with out straining the electrical grid, to assist corporations and industries decarbonize.”
“The demonstration of this novel photo voltaic expertise at Oberon is an ideal match for our dedication to each innovation and to repeatedly driving down the carbon depth of our fuels,” mentioned Rebecca Boudreaux, Ph.D., Oberon’s President and CEO. “With a profitable deployment right here, we might incorporate Sunvapor’s expertise into the quite a few extra crops we’ve got underneath growth, enabling us to supply DME with the world’s lowest carbon footprint. We recognize the assist of the U.S. Division of Power on this venture and the State of California whose assist has been crucial to the event of the Maverick Innovation Heart. We’re proud to play a job in demonstrating the potential of such an vital expertise.”
“In 2020, the commercial sector accounted for 33 % of the nation’s major vitality use and 30 % of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which is why Secretary Granholm and the Division of Power launched the Industrial Warmth Shot final yr,” mentioned Becca Jones-Albertus, Appearing Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power and Director of the Photo voltaic Power Applied sciences Workplace on the U.S. Division of Power. “This venture is consultant of efforts underway to develop cost-competitive options for industrial warmth with a minimum of 85 % decrease greenhouse gasoline emissions by 2035, and we sit up for a profitable demonstration by Sunvapor and Oberon Fuels.”
About Sunvapor
Sunvapor is a pioneering renewable vitality expertise and venture developer, specializing in the difficult-to-decarbonize industrial sector. Sunvapor offers engineering, procurement, building and commissioning administration providers to construct and function turnkey photo voltaic course of heating, cooling, and desalination crops. Sunvapor has gained a number of awards and prizes from the US Division of Power (DOE) and the California Power Fee. Extra data is offered at www.sunvapor.web.
About Oberon Fuels
California-based Oberon Fuels is on a mission to decarbonize the gas and vitality sectors by way of the commercialization of low carbon or carbon-negative fuels constructed from renewable assets or industrial byproducts. When blended with propane at solely 20 %, Oberon’s rDME® gas reduces the carbon depth of propane by as much as 60 %. The gas is being offered commercially within the US as we speak. Renewable DME additionally offers a compelling means for transporting renewable hydrogen for its many fast-growing purposes. Extra data is offered at www.oberonfuels.com.
