Global Geothermal Limited (GGL) generates power from waste heat and geothermal sources, without fuel. GGL provides alternative energy solutions that are efficient, reliable, safe, clean and cost-effective by deploying the proprietary Kalina Cycle® energy conversion technology.
Applicable to over 75 percent of the world’s power generation market, the Kalina Cycle® is a power cycle technology based on the superior thermodynamic properties of mixtures.
Global Geothermal was formed in 2007 to consolidate the various worldwide entities licensed to deploy the Kalina Cycle®. As a result GGL owns and controls the Kalina Cycle® rights and the over 200 international patents associated with the proprietary technology.
Although the Kalina Cycle®’s general principals are simple and well understood, design and construction of a successful project requires an advanced process across a range of disciplines, including chemical, mechanical and mathematical.
Global Geothermal’s intellectual property rights to the Kalina Cycle® are supported by a strong, experienced engineering division, Recurrent Engineering Llc (Recurrent). Recurrent is based in Houston and San Francisco in the United States and comprises highly-qualified engineers and technologists who have assisted in the development of the Kalina Cycle®. The project team designs the optimum plant and process configuration dependent upon the heat of the energy source and local temperatures.
The Kalina Cycle® is now gaining acceptance globally as the most efficient process to convert low grade heat into electricity. The Kalina Cycle® can deliver up to a 50% improvement in power generating efficiency over traditional or organic processes. This makes the Kalina Cycle® ideal for utilising heat generated from industrial processes, such as steel or cement making, to produce electricity to supplement the otherwise purchased power requirements of the manufacturing facilities.
An important aspect of the Kalina Cycle®, because of its efficiency in producing electricity from low temperature heat sources, is that it is ideally suited for bottoming cycles, i.e.: additional electricity generated from exhaust gases, flash geothermal plants etc.
Global Geothermal’s licensing agreement with leading European power company, Siemens AG, has so far resulted in the construction of two power stations. The Unterhagen plant in Germany has a generating capacity of 3.4MW providing power to the town and fluid for the districts heating system. The Husavikur plant in Iceland utilises geothermal heat to produce 2,000 kW of electricity for the local township.
Sumitomo Metal Industries has been utilising the Kalina Cycle® at its steel works since 1999 to produce 3.5Mw of electricity. A second plant operates at Fuji Oils Tokyo Bay refinery.
In the past year, an agreement was reached with Shanghai Shenge New Energy Resources Science and Technology (SSNE) of China to issue them with a licence to use the Kalina Cycle®. This is viewed as a major step forward for Wasabi, one that could lead to multiple applications of the Kalina Cycle® and further its global acceptance as the preferred process in utilising industrial waste heat to generate electricity.
SSNE, along with Global Geothermal and its wholly-owned subsidiary Recurrent Engineering, have already designed and built a 50Kw demonstration plant to be installed in south western Tibet utilising geothermal power in an area where there is no other source of power.
SSNE paid an initial licensing fee of $2 million and will pay a continuing royalty per KWh of installed capacity of new plants utilising the Kalina Cycle®.
Strategically, the most important move has been to increase Wasabi’s stake in Global Geothermal Limited to 96% subsequent to the reporting period.
www.globalgeothermal.com