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Azelio signs MoU with Biodico for 120 MWe of installations in California

Sweden-based energy storage and transfer developers Azelio AB (formerly Cleanergy AB) has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US biofuels company Biodico Inc., (Biodico) for a project in Atascadero, California. The MoU frameworks a collaboration totaling a capacity of about 120 MWe of Azelio’s energy storage technology in the US market until 2024.

Azelio (formerly Cleanenergy AB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US biofuels company Biodico Inc., (Biodico) for a project in Atascadero, California. The MoU frameworks a collaboration over a capacity of about 120 MWe of Azelio’s energy storage technology in the US market until 2024 (photo courtesy Azelio).

Biodico’s vision is to create and enable clean biofuel production centres powered from on-site renewable resources, to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, provide meaningful jobs and local economic development. The company owns and operates sustainable biorefineries in the United States (US) based upon patented and proprietary technology.

According to Azelio, the MoU framework capacity is distributed along the following timeline: 13 kWe in 2021 (Atascadero project), 15 MWe in 2022, 35 MWe in 2023 and 70 MWe in 2024. Fully installed, the capacity corresponds to approximately 9 000 units of Azelio’s system.

Azelio’s system will supply Biodico’s biofuel production system with electricity on demand. The energy system will include solar PV, wind and the Azelio storage destined to supply baseload energy to the process around the clock.

Azelio’s unit will operate under real-world conditions, serving as a commercial model for Azelio’s future projects in California.

We are moving at a good pace, and I am pleased to see the substantial interest in Azelio’s technology manifested by a third MoU in a short period of time. At Azelio, we are particularly excited about gaining ground in the North American market. The project in California will demonstrate our solution’s capabilities in storing and dispatching energy from both solar PV and wind power, allowing both Azelio and Biodico to build a valuable experience needed to deploy our solution on a larger scale, said Jonas Eklind, CEO, Azelio.

CEC pre-approval

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has pre-accepted Biodico’s commercial showcase project to apply for a full grant proposal by the end of this year, representing a potential financing instrument for the project.

The initial project is expected to become operational in 2021, as a commercial demonstration and showcase for Biodico’s modular renewable biofuel production system in the town of Atascadero, California. Azelio’s system will be used to store energy from both solar PV and wind power and will produce electricity on demand, maximizing the renewable energy supply for the biofuel production process.

When Azelio’s energy storage is fully charged, electricity can be produced for 13 hours at nominal power. Hence, with this collaboration, Biodico’s biofuel production projects will be enhanced by increasing their share of renewable energy supply.

Both Azelio and Biodico wish to establish and extend their business offering in California and Biodico will become a non-exclusive distributor of Azelio’s technology in the region.

Biodico sees Azelio’s system as a main part of its energy supply for its modular renewable biofuel production. The ability to provide renewable energy 24/7 is crucial at both a technical and commercial level. ­­Environmentally it is the right thing to do, and it has financial benefits at the same time, said Russell Teall, President of Biodico.

Power-heat-power

According to Azelio, Thermal Energy Storage (TES) whereby thermal energy to electricity after the storage is the obvious and optimal choice for electricity on-demand all hours of the day. A Phase Change Material (PCM) is heated up to just under 600°C and liquefied in the container.

During discharge, heat is transferred from the PCM through a heat transfer fluid (HTF) to the Stirling engine. The working gas is heated and cooled off by ambient air, and thereby runs the engine.

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