HAYWARD, CA – Alphabet Energy announces the general availability of the PowerModule Developer Kit, the first all-in-one, turnkey package for building and testing thermoelectric technology in a wide range of exhaust systems or on an exhaust test bench. After successful customer deployments of Alphabet Energy's PowerModule technology product and the turnkey E1 Thermoelectric Generator (E1), the PowerModule Developer Kit brings these breakthrough technologies to a wider range of industrial exhaust systems.
Simple-to-install and inexpensive, the PowerModule Developer Kit helps owners of waste heat implement a high return-on-investment waste heat recovery system for their own exhaust flues using Alphabet Energy’s thermoelectric technologies. It represents the first modular, adaptable technology for thermal power generation, and is a precursor for any customer to utilize Alphabet Energy’s PowerModules widely across operations.
Between 20 to 50 percent of energy consumed by U.S. industry is lost as waste heat. WHP, the process generating electricity from heat discarded by an industrial processes, presents an enormous opportunity. In the industrial sector, there are a variety of waste heat streams generated by furnaces, kilns, thermal oxidizers and incineration systems. In the oil & gas industry, much heat is wasted at compressor stations, well pads and processing facilities in the form of exhaust from engines, flares and incinerators. For example, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, natural gas pipeline operators in the U.S. alone could generate over 1,100,000 kWe from the exhaust heat lost in pipeline operations.
Alphabet Energy’s PowerModule Developer Kit consists of four components required to quickly and easily connect to an exhaust pipe or flue (optimal exhaust heat temperatures from 350 – 600°C/ 660 – 1100 °F) and generate electricity:
1) Alphabet Energy PowerModule;
2) Exhaust Transition Sections;
3) Cooling System (radiator and pump); and
4) Electrical Power Output Measurement System (Watt meter and variable load).
“The PowerModule Developer Kit™ is an industrial customer’s first step towards using our PowerModules™ across all of their exhaust sources, said Matt Scullin, founder and CEO, Alphabet Energy. “We’ve worked closely with our customers and partners to better understand how to lower the barriers to turning waste heat into power. The PowerModule Developer Kit™ is a direct result of these collaborations across multiple industries, and solidifies Alphabet Energy’s position as a core technology company. Waste heat recovery has been an elusive goal for many industries because of the lack of flexibility that incumbent products, like Organic Rankine Cycles, offer. To help industrial clients achieve energy efficiency goals, we’ve scaled down our full system, the E1™, and made it available in a simple package, appropriate for a smaller-scale test and adaptable to applications at any scale.”
Flare gas, for instance, is an under utilized resource. In the Bakken Shale, producers flare approximately 10.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas, equivalent to $100 million, on a monthly basis. Realizing that there is significant potential for putting this wasted energy to use, U.S. producers operating oil and gas basins have come to Alphabet Energy to develop solutions that better utilize this valuable resource.
Similarly, a vast amount of energy is underutilized when sent to an incinerator or thermal oxidizer and consequently operators of various types of oil and gas facilities have come to Alphabet Energy looking for a solution that converts this wasted resource into useable electricity for on-site electrical needs.
In the U.S., both House and Senate legislators have introduced the Power Efficiency and Resiliency Act (POWER Act) that would add waste heat to power to the list of renewable technologies that qualify for the 30 percent federal investment tax credit. The PowerModule Developer Kit™ is an easy way for companies to determine how much electricity they can generate from an onsite waste product, saving money previously spent on purchased power. If the POWER Act takes effect, these savings could be even more significant.
Pricing for the PowerModule Developer Kit starts at $1,995. For more information, visit http://www.alphabetenergy.com