Feature Story:

The world needs more Energy - where's it going to come from?

The need for bodily warmth and for cooking food was what drove the first humans to make use of fire, and it has been a constant of our search for the best energy sources for thousands of years.

Our energy needs may be more varied now and electricity was discovered long ago but heat still forms the basis of many of our systems. Since much of our electricity production has relied on producing steam to move the turbines that produce power, the energy industry has been focused on finding and exploiting the best heat sources. And that has generally meant extracting fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.

It’s not just demand for electricity and process heat for industry putting pressure on fossil fuel resources. They also provide fuel for transport and feedstock for the chemical and manufacturing industries. And, while electricity and hydrogen have both been mooted as potential fuels for the transport industry, this is shifting, not removing, the burden. Electricity must be generated and hydrogen produced and both processes currently rely largely on the same fossil fuel sources that would have provided the transport fuel.

Our demands for electricity, heat, and transport are growing faster than ever. According to US Department of Energy figures, global energy demand – which rose by around 42 per cent between 1980 and 2000 (from 283 quadrillion British Thermal Units btu in 1980 to 400 quadrillion btu in 2000) – will nearly double again in the years to 2030 ... Download the Magazine (below) to read the complete article

GEA’s role in the energy industry


As countries and energy companies around the world explore how to meet future energy needs, GEA’s Thermal Engineering Division will be with them every step of the way. Heat transfer technology plays a central role in the world’s power stations, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, gas pipelines and GTL (gas to liquid) and biomass facilities.

Central to GEA’s energy offering are:

  • Air Cooled Heat Exchangers (also known as Air Fin Coolers) for direct dry cooling, which are used in any application where heat needs to be transferred in large quantities. Air cooling is used at all modern industrial facilities (from energy generation to energy transportation) – air is unlimited, free and does not require treatment.
  • Air Cooled Condensers, for direct condensing, which are used to condense steam.
  • Wet cooling (a two-step method – water is cooled in a Wet Cooling Tower and then the cooled water cools or condenses the fluid or steam).
  • ndirect dry cooling by means of Heller® cooling towers (a two-step method – water is cooled in a Dry Cooling Tower and the cooled water cools or condenses the fluid or steam).
  • Special applications (e.g. de-sublimination, crystallization).

The Thermal Engineering Division has businesses worldwide.

GEA has invested heavily in China and it is paying off with a host of contracts to supply Air Cooled Condensers for the fleet of coal-fired power plants and Air Fin Coolers for the petrochemical refineries that will power the China of the future. The boost of India’s economy is great news for its petrochemical industry and GEA is supplying components there, too. South Africa’s power industry is also developing at a fast rate. GEA is currently heavily involved in the development of new power stations there, winning one of the largest orders in the history of its Thermal Engineering Division in December 2007 for the design, manufacture, supply and erection of Air Cooled Condensers for Medupi power station. South Africa is experiencing energy shortages and GEA is also involved in projects that will recommission power stations shut down in the 1990s. The growth of refineries, GTL plants and gas processing plants in the Middle East has created a new market for air cooling as water is scarce. Thus, GEA company Batignolles Technologies Thermiques opened a new manufacturing site for Air Coolers in Qatar to tap into this market.

Historically, GEA has been a major player in the energy sector, building its first Air Cooled
Condenser in 1939, and the Group’s reputation for knowledge, reliability and engineering excellence means it is well positioned to benefit from projected increases in energy consumption.

And it’s not just GEA’s Thermal Engineering Division that plays a leading role in the energy industry. The division teams up with different GEA businesses to offer clients integrated engineering solutions to both energy production and boosting energy efficiency.

 

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