US-headed waste heat to power technology provider ElectraTherm Inc., a BITZER Group company, partnered with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Creare LLC, and the US Naval Academy (USNA) to demonstrate gas turbine waste heat recovery as part of a Small Business Innovation Research project. The demonstration was commissioned at USNA in Annapolis, Maryland to prove the potential for shipboard waste heat recovery.
Utilizing Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and proprietary technologies, ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generator captures low-temperature waste heat to generate fuel-free, emission-free power. At the USNA, the Power+ captures the waste heat from an existing helicopter gas turbine used to train the USNA Midshipmen, using a custom designed exhaust gas heat exchanger provided by Creare.
The 390 HP helicopter turbine’s exhaust heat is used to heat water which the Power+ Generator uses to generate power. The power sizing and flexibility of the Power+ ORC accommodate a wide range of temperatures for heat input and was well suited to the existing gas turbine and the objectives for the demonstration platform.
This made it an ideal choice for the USNA test cell environment, and the Power+ performed exactly as modeled. The commissioning demonstrates fuel savings opportunities for gas turbine or reciprocating engine waste heat streams aboard ships, a waste heat recovery source readily available and underutilized.
I am very glad that we chose ElectraTherm for the ORC component of the most recent project, been extremely easy to work with and extremely helpful at every turn, said Roger Hill, the Lead Project Engineer at Creare.
