Rondo Energy and Siam Cement Group subsidiary SCG Cleanergy have begun construction of a Rondo Heat Battery (RHB), configured to convert solar power into continuous zero carbon heat at 1,000°C or higher levels for the SCG cement plant in Saraburi Province, Thailand. The unit is poised to become the world’s first heat battery for a cement operation, addressing a critical target of carbon dioxide emissions reduction for such facilities.
Rondo currently operates the world’s highest temperature, highest efficiency commercial energy storage system, serving the Calgren Renewable Fuels plant in Pixley, Calif.
“Rondo is building this century’s industrial infrastructure, harnessing the wind and the sun to power the world’s factories,” said CEO John O’Donnell. “We’re building deep partnerships with industrial giants to tackle their greatest challenges and to deliver at scale. We’ve already established gigascale production capacity with SCG, and we’re thrilled to be working now with SCG Cleanergy to address a major global need: cement decarbonization.”
RONDO HEAT BATTERY
“Electrification of cement production requires a large-scale and low-cost energy storage solution, as renewables are not available 24/7 but cement production needs to be,” added President Eric Trusiewicz. “Rondo has brought to market the world’s first scalable, low-cost, high temperature thermal energy storage solution, and this project is the first step of getting this technology to wider deployment in cement and in the developing world, where 90 percent of cement is produced and consumed. Hard-to-decarbonize sectors like cement and steel will need to move away from fossil fuels globally and begin using renewable electricity to get us to net zero by 2050.”
The SCG project coincides with prospective RHB deliveries tied to $6 billion in Industrial Demonstrations Program funding opportunities the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) announced earlier this year. Rondo Energy and Diageo Americas Supply Inc. are positioned to negotiate with OCED for $75 million toward replacing natural gas-fired heat with RHBs powered by onsite renewable energy and electric boilers at Illinois and Kentucky beverage facilities. As Rondo Energy and Diageo Americas prepare to state their case to agency officials, six cement and cementitious materials producers are firming up their own project proposals with an eye to $1.2 billion in Industrial Demonstrations Program awards.
