Geo40's commercial demonstration plant at Ohaaki. |
Climeon has entered into a collaboration agreement with the New Zealand-based geothermal minerals firm Geo40 to strengthen the companies’ geothermal offering and enable an expansion into waste heat recovery at existing geothermal power plants, so-called bottoming cycles. The companies will be working together to establish a first combined mineral extraction and power production plant during 2020.
Geo40 has developed a technology to extract silica and other minerals from geothermal brine, the hot wastewater that remains after high temperature geothermal power production. The silica in the brine causes scaling in geothermal pipes and wells and limits the heat that can be extracted and utilized for power generation. By extracting and removing the silica and other valuable minerals like lithium, Geo40’s technology reduces operating costs for geothermal power stations, while producing sustainably sourced minerals. The filtered water from Geo40’s application can then be utilized in Climeon’s Heat Power modules to produce clean electricity and increase power output at geothermal power stations. Bringing together the two firms’ technologies opens up a wide range of global opportunities, particularly in recovering waste heat from existing geothermal power plants, so called bottoming cycles.
- Monday, November 25, 2019 - New Zealand: Lithium Successfully Extracted from Ohaaki Geothermal Power Station Brine
- Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - New Zealand: Commercial Extraction of Silica from Geothermal Brine Plant Begins Construction
- Monday, July 8, 2019 - New Zealand: Government Provides Funding for Silica from Geothermal Brine Project
- Thursday, August 9, 2018 - New Zealand: Commercial Extraction of Silica from Geothermal Brine to Start This Month
- Tuesday, November 29, 2016 - New Zealand: Commercial Operation to Extract Silica from Geothermal Power Plant Wastewater