United States : Dresser Waukesha, a leading manufacturer of natural gas engines that deliver clean, cost-effective power, has received a $6.6 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop an ultra-clean, environmentally friendly combined heat and power (CHP) engine-generator system.

CHP systems are highly efficient, because in addition to generating electricity, they utilize the engine’s “waste heat” for various purposes including industrial processes, heating and cooling buildings and creating steam. This effectively doubles the amount of usable energy created by the engine, without using additional fuel. The project for which Dresser Waukesha has received funding will focus on lowering emissions levels while maintaining very high total energy efficiency in a durable, reliable system.

With the funding from the DOE, along with a $5 million investment of its own, Dresser Waukesha will develop a system that will demonstrate high efficiency, and extremely low emissions. The CHP system will produce 1 to 1.5 MW of electricity, and up to 1.5 MW of hot water, and/or steam for use in commercial and industrial applications. Used alone or grouped with other units, this high efficiency engine will be a building block in developing gas-driven power generation solutions that meet customer needs for both thermal and electrical power.

“We’re delighted to receive this grant from the Department of Energy,” said Dresser Waukesha’s Jim Zurlo, Ph.D., the principal investigator for this project. “Funding of this type supplements our own multi-million dollar investment. It makes it possible for companies like Dresser Waukesha to undertake extended product development efforts that have substantial benefits for our country and the environment.”

This program includes a field test that will demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of this advanced engine-generator system. This CHP package is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by one-third, compared to generating electricity in a coal power plant and heat in a separate, natural gas-fueled boiler.

“While CHP has made major inroads in very large applications of 50 MW and larger, the smaller industrial applications between 5 kilowatts and 50 megawatts have not been fully developed,” the Department of Energy noted in its initial announcement of funding opportunities. “This is largely due to the lack of cost-competitive options in this size range. These technologies, when deployed commercially, will enable the US industry to reduce natural gas consumption and expand the use of combined heat and power (CHP) applications.”