It was a beautiful sunny day at the end of June when the management of Cyprus largest fruit juice producer “KEAN Soft Drinks Ltd.” officially launched their new solar thermal plant designed and constructed by the Cologne based company Protarget AG. The German ambassador at Nicosia, Mr. Franz Josef Kremp joint the event at the KEAN headquarter in Limassol. Several representatives from science, politics and business gathered there. They all wanted to see the completion and launching of a prestigious and promising project. “For us, this day is the special one”, said Martin Scheuerer, commercial director of the German technology company Protarget AG. “We have demonstrated once again that our solar thermal technology is able to generate steam at significantly lower cost compared to conventional oil boiler systems and thus contributing to a reduction of industrial CO₂ emissions”.This CST (Concentrating Solar Thermal) system is the first of its kind in Cyprus that uses the Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) technology. It generates high-temperature steam that is used in various branches and steps of an industrial the production process. For this specific application at KEAN, the system provides steam of up to 425°C for pasteurization and preservation of fruit juices. Up till now, steam had to be produced with fossil fuels such as heavy fuel oil, diesel or gas in conventional boiler systems. Thanks to the technology developed Protarget, KEAN’s heavy fuel oil consumption will be reduced by around 20 percent, avoiding 150 tons of CO₂ emission, every year.

The fully automated operation of this CST system reduces the operational cost to a minimum, with the maintenance being limited to the cleaning of the mirrors. All components of the power plant are designed to operate under harsh weather conditions like deserts. Their durability and performance is guaranteed for more than 25 years. “The integration of a thermal storage also allows steam generation around the clock, which is essential for most industrial productions,” says Scheuerer. Due to its climatic conditions Cyprus is considered to be ideal for the use of the CST technology. The solar radiation levels in most parts of the island, are more than twice as high as in Germany.

Investing in this technology pays off, not only ecologically but also economically. “The system costs are typically amortized in less than four years,” says Scheuerer. In addition to that, our customer are becoming independent of any future oil price increases and or emission taxes. Therefore, Kean has already approved the construction of a second CST plant at their premises in Limassol, with the aim to generate 100% of the company’s steam from solar.

This CST plant is part of an international research project EDITOR (Evaluation of the Dispatchability of a Parabolic Trough Collector System with Concrete Storage).The project was funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competition, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia.Representatives of the Cypriot economy, politics and research visiting the CST facility at KEAN in LimassolJohn Mitchell, Technical Director at Protarget AG explains how CST technology worksOn the left, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Cyprus Franz Josef Kremp, next to him the owner of KEAN

Protarget AG founded in Cologne in 2009, is specialized in the development, production and construction of turnkey CST plants for industrial steam supply. The technology can also be used in other areas such as cooling processes and industrial wastewater treatment. During the past 10 years, Protarget has successfully completed solar projects in Germany, Cyprus, India and Brazil. Further projects in Jordan, Chile, South Africa and India are in final planning stage.

Berlin, November 14, 2019 – At this year’s briefing, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the German Climate Consortium and other representatives from science and politics are  discussing the upcoming climate summit and climate policy requirements. The annual climate conference, which takes place this year according to the motto “Es tiempo de actuar” – “It is time to act” in the Spanish capital Madrid under the presidency of Chile, serves to implement the Paris Agreement and this year is particularly dedicated to the project to increase international efforts and ambitions for more climate protection. The expectations of climate policy are high.

Martin Scheuerer, the commercial director of Protarget AG, used the briefing at the Federal Foreign Office with around 450 other visitors for an active exchange on climate related issues.

The Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas said that Europe must take a leading role in climate matters, because only then countries like China and India would stay on course. This implies that the EU will have to tighten its climate targets for 2030 next year and set them with more ambition. The European Green Deal must not remain a meaningless phrase, said Maas.

The Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety Svenja Schulze said that the World Climate Conference in Madrid will also be about establishing a reliable offset system for emission certificates on a global level. The contributions to climate protection in individual countries must be increased and the climate targets revised. This is the only way to avoid the climate catastrophe.

In his lecture, Professor Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, reports that the national targets set in 2015 are not sufficient to keep global warming below two or 1.5 degrees Celsius. In his view, it is essential to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by half over the next ten years in order to stabilise our climate. Scientific knowledge shows very clearly that following the same path will lead to even greater climate damage. Rockström emphasised that this is not just about environmental protection, but also about protecting human lives.

Protarget AG, based in Cologne, is currently implementing a series of solar projects in Chile. The aim is to supply industrial customers such as copper mines, lithium and food producers with process heat and solar wastewater treatment. Protarget offers its customers turnkey power plants according to the operator model. Thereby Protarget takes over the construction, installation and operation of the plant.

In the April issue of the journal of the Chilean Association for Irrigation and Water Treatment (AGRYD) an interview with the managing director of Protarget AG Martin Scheuerer was published.

As part of a transnational research project Protarget AG and its partners have developed and built a solar steam boiler system for “Kean Soft Drinks Ltd.“ in Limassol, Cyprus.

The objective of this project is to carry out industrial research that demonstrates and verifies the dispatchability and performance of a high temperature solar thermal system designed for continuous (24/7) operation. The project is called EDITOR which stands for “Evaluation of the Dispatchability of a Parabolic Trough Collector System with Concrete Storage”.

The system design consists of a mid-sized parabolic trough collector loop combined with a concrete thermal energy storage which has been specifically designed for industrial applications requiring heating or cooling for up to 24 hours. With Kean Juicy in Limassol, as the consumer of the solar steam, the ideal partner was found. Not only because of Cyprus excellent solar conditions, but also due to the fact that Kean Juices is focusing on innovative and sustainable production methods.

The current market for solar collectors designed for process heat applications is dominated by systems with maximum operating temperatures of around 250 °C. Whilst these collectors are able to generate process steam effectively, few of these have been equipped with any form of storage. Larger solar collectors designed for supplying energy to electrical generation plants have been equipped with complex molten salt storage systems and can operate at higher temperatures, but to do so often use thermal oils as heat transfer media that are classified as toxic and harmful.

In EDITOR project and for the first time in the history of parabolic trough collector development, the deployed thermal oil will be operated at a temperature beyond 400 °C. This is made possible through the use of a new environmentally friendly silicone based thermal oil, which allows the operating temperature to be raised to 425 °C. A further innovation is the use of a newly developed evacuated heat collecting element  (i.e. receiver tube). The heat collecting element was specially designed for the mid-sized parabolic trough collector aperture with the aim to increase the collector efficiency. In order to be able to produce energy on demand, an innovative new concrete storage system will be used and tested. The three year project not only involves the technical activities of building, commissioning and running the solar power system. In addition, it also covers commercial considerations such as the feasibility of scale-up, the identification of future customers and communication regarding this important development with the potential market.

The EDITOR team is made up of 5 partners from three countries, all of whom bring the specific experience of the solar industry required to ensure that the project will be successful. The project partners are:

Protarget AG (Cologne, Germany)
CADE Soluciones de Ingeniería, S. L. (Albacete, Spain)
Cyprus University of Technology (Limassol, Cyprus)
German Aerospace Centre DLR (Cologne, Germany)
Solar-Institute Jülich of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (Jülich, Germany)

The international project EDITOR is funded by the Research Promotion Foundation (RPF) from Cyprus, the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) from Spain, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) from Germany as well as the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia from Germany. SOLAR-ERA.NET, a European network that brings together funding organisations, is supported by the European Commission within the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020 (Cofund ERA-NET Action, N° 691664 and N°786483).

Links / In the media:
 http://www.kean.com.cy/en/
 https://protarget-ag.de/
 https://cadeengineering.com/propietary-technologies/solidtes/
 https://www.fh-aachen.de/en/research/solar-institut-juelich/schwerpunkte/editor/
 https://www.cut.ac.cy/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0o3tfkLGmY&feature=youtu.be
 https://www.solar-payback.com/suppliers/

In January 2018, after 3 months of construction, the German technology company Protarget AG has successfully commissioned a solar thermal plant, at the Hatsun dairy in India. The system is delivering process steam directly into the steam line of an ice cream factory.

With a capacity of 320 kW, the solar plant produces 2.500 kg of steam/day and supplies Hatsun Agro Products Ltd in Salem, in the state of Tamil Nadu with renewable energy. Hatsun is India’s largest privately owned dairy with 14 production sites. The company exports its products to 40 countries and employs over 5.000 people. Protarget AG, based in Cologne, Germany is specialised in the manufacturing and construction of solar thermal plants. Their modular systems are specifically designed for industrial process heat and steam supply in regions with high solar radiation.

With the installation of Protarget’s solar steam boiler system, the company is able to generate its thermal energy, that is required for the production of milk powder and ice cream, significantly cheaper than with the existing coal fired boiler system. According to Hatsun, this project will reduce the dairies coal consumption by more than 1.000 tons in the next 10 years, resulting into a reduction in CO₂ emission of 3.000 tons in the same period.

As one of India’s first companies, Hatsun has joined the RE100 global initiative in early 2018. The aim of this campaign is to unite influential companies around the world who are committed to the use of renewable energy. Among the participants, there are companies like Apple, Google, SAP, Tata Motors etc. Hatsun has committed itself to meet the total energy demand from renewable sources by 2032. Currently the company meets ca. 82 % of their power needs from environment friendly sources.

As part of their strategy towards a fully renewable supply of their production facilities, Hatsun and Protarget are planning to extend their activities and apply the solar steam boiler technology on other Hatsun production sites in India. Aim is to equip these systems with protarget thermal storage technology, in order to fulfil the industrial demand of a 24/7 energy supply.

Links / In the media:

https://www.hap.in/index.html

https://protarget-ag.com/

http://there100.org/companies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0o3tfkLGmY&feature=youtu.be

https://www.solar-payback.com/suppliers/