Portugal-based energy company EDP has partnered with zero-carbon heat and power provider Rondo Energy to electrify industrial heat using thermal energy storage.
EDP has signed a deal with Rondo Energy to develop up to 400MW of wind and solar capacity to power as much as 2GWh of Rondo’s ‘Heat Battery’ installations, which will be used to provide heat garnered from renewable energy to industries and EDP’s other energy-intensive clients.
Rondo ‘Heat Batteries’ convert intermittent electric power from renewable assets, such as wind or solar, into continuous high-temperature heat. The technology also has the ability to deliver continuous power through a combined heat and power (CHP) configuration, added Rondo Energy.
In June 2023 Rondo Energy announced its intention to scale the annual production of its ‘Heat Batteries’ to 90GWh.
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Following the partnership, EDP will develop wind and solar parks; these will be large-scale and distributed with the latter co-located with a ‘Heat Battery’.
According to EDP these projects will “open a new market”, offering the commercial and industrial customers within the energy company’s core market renewable heat and power supply contracts said to deliver “deep decarbonisation and major energy savings.”
Vera Pinto Pereira, EDP’s board member, said Rondo Energy’s technology opens “a major business opportunity” for the decarbonisation of its energy-intensive clients that use heat in their facilities.
John O’Donnell, CEO of Rondo Energy added that the partnership is a “game-changer” that aims to low-cost clean heat to industrial customers.
“Working together, Rondo and EDP will deliver 24-hour clean heat to industrial customers at prices competitive with gas, and without any factory facility changes,” said O’Donnell.
The partnership follows Rondo Energy completing a US$60 million fundraising round in August 2023, with investors including Rio Tinto and Microsoft.
