Power-to-heat plant with heat storage.

Leonhard Kurx and EnergyWest have successfully commissioned their joint power-to-heat plant with integrated thermal storage at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg site (D). Now that all installation and commissioning work has been completed, the system is supplying industrial process heat based on renewable electricity, marking an important milestone on the path to decarbonizing energy-intensive production processes.

The plant combines a 3 MW electric heater with an ENERGYNEST ThermalBattery™ featuring a storage capacity of 12 MWhth. The system is directly integrated into the site’s existing thermal oil infrastructure and primarily uses electricity from the directly connected ground-mounted photovoltaic system to provide high-temperature process heat on demand.

Once operational, KURZ will generate more than 3 GWhth of clean heat annually, covering over 70 percent of the heat demand for a production line at the site. More than 40 percent of the heat demand will be met by stored heat. At the same time, natural gas consumption will be reduced by more than 3.5 GWh per year, resulting in annual CO₂ savings of over 700 metric tons.

With this project, KURZ is advancing its sustainability strategy and consistently pursuing the goal of climate-neutral production. The company already exclusively uses electricity from renewable energy sources at its German sites. The successful commissioning of the power-to-heat plant now marks another important step toward the decarbonization of industrial heat supply.

“Sustainability is deeply embedded in our corporate DNA and shapes every aspect of our business operations and innovation. With the successful commissioning of this plant, we are taking another important step on our path toward climate-neutral production. The project demonstrates how innovative energy solutions and industrial competitiveness can go hand in hand,” said Ralph Hopfensitz, Executive Senior Vice President of Global Technology at LEONHARD KURZ.

“With this successful commissioning, we are proving that the decarbonization of industrial process heat is no longer a concept for the future, but can be implemented economically today," said Alex Robertson, CEO of ENERGYNEST "Together with KURZ, we have implemented a solution that enables the flexible use of renewable electricity and replaces fossil fuels. This project demonstrates how the industrial energy transition can succeed in practice - with immediately measurable results in terms of emissions reduction, energy efficiency, and security of supply.”

The solution is one of the first industrial power-to-heat projects in Germany to combine high-temperature heat with integrated thermal energy storage. It demonstrates how companies can flexibly utilize renewable electricity, increase energy efficiency, and economically replace fossil-fuel-based process heat.

The project was funded by the Federal German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and serves as a model for scaling up electrified heat supply in industry. Its successful implementation underscores the potential of power-to-heat and heat storage as key building blocks of a climate-neutral industry.

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@LEONHARD_KURZ @KURZUSA @UnnGmbh @PresseBox #PAuto #Storage #Germany

Optimising thermal management strategy.

Molex has announced a strategic investment in CAEPlus, Inc., an early-stage company focused on the development of active liquid cooling technology designed to help data centres manage increasing heat loads driven by AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC) workloads. This investment advances Molex’s Data Center Thermal Management strategy by accelerating the innovation of CAEPlus’ BoundaryCool™ platform, a compact, active cooling architecture that addresses next gen GPU/ASIC thermal challenges.

“Advanced thermal management is becoming a critical enabler for the next wave of compute performance,” said Jairo Guerrero, VP and GM, Copper Solutions Business, Molex. “Our strategic investment in CAEPlus reflects Molex’s commitment to supporting innovations in liquid cooling while working with emerging technology leaders to help customers address rapidly evolving AI and compute-intensive data center requirements.”

The strategic collaboration will support continued advancements across the BoundaryCool platform, engineered to deliver significantly higher heat transfer performance and greater reductions in CPU/GPU/TPU chip temperatures compared to passive cold plate solutions while remaining compatible with legacy data centre architectures.

“CAEPlus was founded to address the rapid pace of change in data center cooling requirements by enabling an entirely new class of active liquid cooling solutions,” said Milad Bashirzadeh, founder and CEO, CAEPlus, Inc. “In addition to its investment, Molex brings deep engineering expertise and a strong track record of helping scale innovative technologies. We are excited to work together in advancing our proprietary cooling technology and meet unrelenting industry requirements for higher levels of performance and efficiency.”

The addition of CAEPlus technology to Molex’s comprehensive thermal management portfolio offers data centre customers a broader range of solutions engineered to address the most demanding computing requirements. As part of the agreement, Molex retains exclusive licensing to apply CAEPlus technology to the Molex portfolio of pluggable I/O solutions. 

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@MolexConnectors  @NapierPR #CAEPlus #PAuto

Solutions for electronics cooling.

The Chomerics Division of Parker Hannifin has released an updated version of its catalogue for thermal interface materials (TIMs). Providing a comprehensive overview of Parker’s solutions for electronics cooling applications, the latest catalogue includes all recently released TIMs, as well as a new dispensing guide to help customers ensure a correct and consistent application.

Many new-generation electronic products offer higher power in a smaller package, intensifying thermal management challenges for OEM and CEM electronics companies in the telecommunications, IT, consumer, power conversion, medical device, defence and transportation markets. To help engineers overcome these issues, Parker Chomerics showcases a wide range of TIMs in its updated catalogue.

For example, Parker Chomerics’ gap fillers (THERM-A-GAP™ series) come in two different types: gels and pads. Gels are low-closure-force, electrically isolating, fully cured materials that users dispense into place, while gap filler pads are highly conformable to accommodate an even wider gap range.

The updated catalogue also features Parker Chomerics’ THERMFLOW® phase-change materials. OEMs and CEMs can place these thin pads between a heatsink and semiconductor where they change phase into a liquid at higher temperatures to achieve a very thin bond line.

THERMATTACH® thermal tapes have adhesive on both sides to hold a heatsink in contact with an IC component without the need for mechanical fasteners, while another focus product in the updated catalogue is the THERM-A-FORM™ range of potting and underfill materials. Users can dispense these one- or two-component silicone elastomer materials prior to subsequent curing in place, whereas thermal gap filler gels are already cured when dispensed.

Other solutions highlighted in the updated publication include:

• The CHO-THERM® series of dielectric pads. As well as offering thermal conductivity, CHO-THERM higher-closure-force pads for discrete power devices are electrically isolating.
• Parker Chomerics’ heat spreaders (T-WING® range), which utilise two different thermal transfer methodologies: conduction to remove heat from an integrated circuit and convection air flow over the product to remove that heat from the assembly. These thin heat spreaders are suitable for use in restricted spaces.
• Thermal greases (T series), silicone-based pastes with a thermally conductive filler material that draws heat away from a heat-generating component on a circuit board while filling very thin bond lines.

To complement the products, the updated catalogue offers added value to engineers with its new dispensing guide for thermally conductive gels, cure-in-place potting compounds and thermal greases. There is also a section on heat transfer fundamentals, ensuring readers fully understand this key electronics application before formulating ideas about the optimal solution.

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@ParkerChomerics @ParkerHannifin @NapierPR #PAuto #Electronics

Immersion management - thermal management solution.

Reducing the time and cost of deploying and upgrading high-performance data centres to meet unrelenting demand for generative AI and machine learning workflows.

A thermal management solution that reduces the time and cost of deploying and upgrading high-performance data centers to meet unrelenting demand for generative AI and machine learning workflows has been introduced. Molex VaporConnect™ Optical Feedthrough Modules for two-phase immersion cooling address constant increases in data center speed and capacity by leveraging a unique, cassette-based design that bolts directly onto immersion tanks and enables optical transceivers and network cabling infrastructure to be swapped out without changing mechanical interfaces or impacting immersion tank architecture. Reference designs for the new modules will be available commercially in Q1 of 2025.

“Molex continually embraces innovative optical solutions to ease data center deployments and upgrades while alleviating critical thermal management challenges,” said Trevor Smith, general manager, Optical Connectivity, Molex. “VaporConnect gives customers the flexibility to upgrade connectivity and scale cooling system designs to keep pace with data center growth by simply deploying a different module, which will accelerate upgrades while reducing overall energy, cooling and technology costs.”

Streamlining two-phase immersion cooling.
Molex VaporConnect Optical Feedthrough Modules simplify the connections between optical transceivers contained within immersion tanks and cabling infrastructure that exists outside the tank using fully upgradeable sealed modules. With VaporConnect, sealing and cabling is accomplished inside the module, giving customers the opportunity to upgrade connectors without impacting immersion tank design or architecture. Additionally, customers have the flexibility to re-use standard cabling infrastructure for multiple product generations, which further reduces deployment time, cost and complexity.

A full range of industry-standard and Molex optical connector form factors are available for single- and multi-mode fiber solutions. They also feature mix-and-match functionality to facilitate system upgrades to newer or denser connectors. Customizable module footprints are available to fit specific space and application requirements.

Molex VaporConnect Optical Feedthrough Modules are also designed to minimize external patching and shuffle requirements by leveraging Molex FlexPlane™ optical circuitry technology. As a result, complex optical shuffles and high-density fiber routing are integrated seamlessly within the module for simpler installation and plug-and-play operation.

A sealing gasket comes with every VaporConnect module, which is thoroughly tested using industry-standard, helium-leak testing to ensure a reliable seal with the tank wall. This also assures a seamless transition from the server line cards inside the tank to outside cabling infrastructure. Testing is underway for compliance with industry-standard GR-1435-CORE.

VaporConnect modules are designed to accommodate customer specifications, with the number of fiber channels dependent on the number and type of connectors used. As many as 576 fibers can be integrated into a single module. A range of form factor options are available, including MPO, LC and very small form factor (VSFF) options, such as MMC, MDC, SN and SN-MT. This ensures conformance to existing infrastructure and streamlines system upgrades. As part of Molex’s continued investment in this area, an EBO connector option is currently in development, with availability slated for the first half of 2025.

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@MolexConnectors @NapierPR #Pauto #DataCentres

Tools bring faster integration for developers.

Teledyne FLIR has launched a comprehensive online developer support series for the new Boson®+ thermal camera and Hadron™ 640R dual camera module. The program includes integration support videos and additional online content, offering tips and documentation to help reduce risk while simplifying thermal product development in defense, industrial, and emerging use cases.

“Teledyne FLIR provides data packages like comprehensive user guides, drawings, and app notes as well as GUIs, SDKs, and development kits to support the integration of our thermal camera modules in drones, handhelds, security products, and more,” said Dan Walker, vice president, product management, Teledyne FLIR. “The integration support series is a key differentiator for Teledyne FLIR where we provide online support to enable our customers to start developing with our hardware, software, and tools immediately.”

Teledyne FLIR offers the most comprehensive development-to-production support in the industry. The new video and download series includes guidance on setting up radiometry, tuning, lens calibration, and software and MIPI integration for Boson+. Step-by-step instructions get integrators started interfacing the Hadron 640R with cutting-edge Qualcomm and NVIDIA embedded systems. Additional content will be added as available to continue to support integrators get to market faster.

Plug-and-Play Integration
With a thermal sensitivity of 20 millikelvin (mK), Boson+ is the most sensitive longwave infrared (LWIR) camera line in the market and is a drop-in upgrade for the widely deployed Boson thermal camera module. Hadron 640R pairs a performance-leading 640x512 resolution radiometric Boson® thermal camera with a 64MP visible camera in a single easy-to-integrate module. Designed to optimize size, weight, and power (SWaP) and manufactured in the USA, the Boson+ and Hadron 640R are ideal for integration in unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), automotive, wearables, security applications, handhelds, and thermal sights.

Full Support for the Entire Product Lifecycle
The Teledyne FLIR advantage reduces cost and risk from development to production to product support. Designed for integrators and with industry-leading warranties, the SWaP and cost-optimized high-performance thermal camera modules are AI-compatible and can include factory-integrated lenses to speed development. Integration is made easy with application notes, videos, tools, and support from the applications team to enable optimized camera performance. 

@flir @mepaxIntPR  #PAuto #TandM

Automating electrification of chemical production processes.

Pioneering technology uses light to decarbonise chemical production, helping manufacturers reduce both emissions and operational costs.

Emerson has been chosen by Syzygy Plasmonics to automate its innovative catalyst reactor technology that uses light instead of thermal energy, such as heat generated from burning fossil fuels, for chemical manufacturing. The all-electric production method is designed to replace fossil fuel-based combustion, helping reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs while advancing global sustainability goals. Syzygy estimates its reactor systems could eliminate one gigaton of CO² emissions by 2040.

Syzygy photoreactor used during catalyst testing
(Photo: Brandon Martin Rice University)

The Syzygy catalyst reactor technology will advance decarbonisation in a cost-effective way by electrifying carbon-intensive activities such as chemical manufacturing and reducing the carbon intensity of hydrogen, methanol and fuel production. Rather than rely on thermal energy, the Syzygy reactor harnesses the power of light to energise chemical reactions and reduce the carbon footprint in transportation fuels.

“We are excited to advance this opportunity with Emerson not only for its automation technologies and software but also its sustainability leadership and domain expertise in chemical engineering, electrification and hydrogen production,” said Syzygy chief executive officer Trevor Best. “As we expand beyond traditional paradigms of reactor technology and launch a new way to electrify chemical manufacturing, we wanted a technology partner who can help us scale our technology efficiently, safely and reliably.”

"Emerson is excited to collaborate with Syzygy Plasmonics on such promising technology that could have a significant impact on industries that are some of the most challenging to decarbonise," said Peter Zornio, chief technology officer at Emerson. “This aligns with Emerson’s culture of innovation that takes on our customers’ biggest challenges.”

Decommissioned photocatalytic reactor
used to train Syzygy employees

Syzygy has developed, scaled and integrated its core technologies, incubated at Rice University, into a universal photocatalytic reactor platform, which includes the Rigel™ photoreactor and the proprietary photocatalyst that enables light-driven chemical reactions at unprecedented efficiency.

Emerson will provide hardware, software and services for the Syzygy modular reactors, including its DeltaV™ distributed control system; industrial software for process simulation and data analytics; Rosemount™ instrumentation to measure pressure, temperature, level and flow; and Fisher™ valves to control pressure and improve safety.

Syzygy has three field trials planned for 2023. Leading global partners are driving strong market interest with trials located in North Carolina, California and South Korea.

Syzygy has received funding from the US Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, and investments from Aramco Ventures, BP, Chevron Technology Ventures, Equinor Ventures, EVOK Innovations, Goose Capital, Horizons Ventures, LOTTE Chemical, LOTTE Fine Chemical, Pan American Energy, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, The Engine and Toyota Ventures.

@EMR_Automation @Emerson_News @EmersonExchange  @SyzygyPlasmonic @HHC_Lewis #PAuto #CarbonReduction

Fire detection and condition monitoring for industrial facilities.

The FLIR A500f and A700f Advanced Smart Sensor ruggedized thermal cameras feature high-temperature detection for extreme environments paired with on-camera analytics and alarm capabilities – ideal for industrial early fire detection or outdoor condition monitoring applications. Along with enhanced spot, area, line, polygon, and polyline analytic functions that improve the definition of areas of interest and object curvatures, the A500f/A700f can help commercial and industrial organizations protect assets, improve safety, maximize uptime, and minimize maintenance costs.

The A500f and A700f thermal cameras can quickly identify increased temperatures related to potentially dangerous conditions.

If smoke is present, the cameras can help provide increased awareness for decision makers to properly assess and address incidents. Both cameras feature Flexible Scene Enhancement (FSX) technology, found on Teledyne FLIR K-Series handheld firefighting devices. The result is an ultra-sharp, finer-textured image that shows subtler edge details supplied by the embedded visible camera onto the thermal image, enabling operators to recognize objects and people more easily.

The A500f/A700f are also effective tools for pile-burn monitoring, providing automated early warnings for potential issues in waste management facilities or coal collection areas that operate around the clock.

Manufacturing facilities, chemical processing locations, or power substations that use common communications and control language can also benefit from the A500f and A700f beyond fire detection. These cameras empower those organizations to reduce maintenance costs by identifying heat anomalies from mechanical problems early, thereby extending the life of plant components while maximizing uptime.

Effective Ruggedness and Thermal Range for Outdoor Applications
The A500f/A700f offers superior thermal imaging capability with a resolution of 464 x 348 (161,472) for the A500f and 640 x 480 (307,200) thermal pixel resolution for the A700f. Users can expect a ±2° C (±‐3.6° F) temperature measurement accuracy.

The A500f has a temperature detection range between -20° to 1500°C (-4° to 2732° F), while the A700f offers a temperature range of between 20° to 2000°C (68° to 3632°F) for detecting chemical fires and other extreme industrial fire conditions.

Along with thermal lens options ranging from 14° to 42° and an embedded HD visible camera, these devices fulfill the needs of most outdoor condition monitoring and fire detection applications.

Seamless Integration and Set Up
Installing the FLIR A500f/A700f cameras is seamless. Both cameras are ONVIF compliant and integrate easily into standard security VMS and NVR solutions including control of pan/tilts.

For VMS integrations, thermal and visible streams can be viewed independently or simultaneously. The cameras are easy to add, set up, and operate in HMI (Human Machine Interface) SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems, offering automation system solution providers a running start. Both the A500f and A700f fully support IIoT protocols such as MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) and RESTful API with a system unique token key for extra security.

@flir @mepaxIntPR #Pauto #Safety

Optimum thermal management.

Customised heatsinks are now available as part of the Anglia Inception range to complement its wide range of standard thermal management solutions available from a line-up of world class suppliers.

Anglia Inception

Customised heatsinks from Anglia will prove invaluable where standard products are not suitable for a design, such as when a specific thermal performance is required or where there is simply not enough space to accommodate a standard product. Heatsinks can be customised terms of surface finish, drilling patterns, tapping, milling, custom length and shapes with a choice of anodised colours or bare finishes. Pre-applied thermal interface materials can also be specified as an option, these make production processing and material management much easier.

Commenting on the custom service, David Pearson, Technical Director of Anglia, commented, “Where thermal management is concerned, finding the perfect fit for a design is crucial. This is an increasing challenge for designers. The reduced size of electronics both increases the concentration of heat and makes it harder to find space for heat sinks and other standard heat dissipation solutions. Meeting the thermal demands of an application is critical to ensure the long term reliability of the product, and therefore Anglia is pleased to provide customised solutions that will help meet these demands.”

Anglia’s standard thermal management product range is very extensive and includes a number of world leading thermal management companies offering dedicated solutions for a wide range of applications including LED lighting, high power IGBT modules and many others. The range is supported by extensive UK inventory and competitive volume pricing, with popular solutions covered by the Anglia EZYsample free sampling service.

@angliaLive @NeeshamPR #PAuto 

Industrial labels.

TE Connectivity (TE) has introduced new self-adhesive polyester rating labels, PR115. These custom-designed labels have UL969 category PGJI2 file MH29684 approval, which means that they can be printed by end-use product manufacturers using thermal transfer equipment.

“The PR115 labels are part of our Specialty Product Industrial label portfolio,” says Philippe Contri, TE product manager. “They are the result of the collaboration between TE and several customers in the Industrial sector, and are priced competitively.”

Customers can use the new PR115 labels to identify such items as motors, engine starters of electric vehicles, relays, hydraulic pumps and electrical installations, as well as on solar panels in areas where there is no direct exposure to the sun. The labels can be dispensed automatically, adding to the efficiency of automated assembly and production processes. They can be directly applied from the printer to the back of a solar module.

The 50-micron polyester labels, which have an operating temperature range from -40°C to +150°C, can be customized with pre-printed designs and applied on a large range of substrates including acrylic paint, aluminum and epoxy paint. With an acrylic adhesive thickness of 20 microns, they are recommended for smooth surfaces. Available in satin silver or gloss white, the labels are thermal transfer printable using TE’s current T200 Ident, T3212 and T3224 printers, along with the previous printer range TE3112 and TE3124.

 @TEConnectivity #PAuto

Super-sensitive non-contact temperature sensor.

Accurate temperature measurement based on proprietary MEMS technology.

Omron Electronic Components has extended its non-contact MEMS thermal sensor range with a new narrow-field version specifically designed to provide accurate non-contact measurements of an objects’ surface temperature for industrial control, medical and building automation systems. Omron is relaunching its full range of MEMS thermal sensors in Europe, including wider field versions ideal for detecting room occupancy and similar applications.

The new Omron D6T-1A-02 is a super-sensitive infra-red (IR) temperature sensor that makes full use of proprietary Omron MEMS sensing technology. It can measure the surface temperature of an object between -40 up to +80°C in the target area with an accuracy of +/-1.5°C and a resolution of 0.06°C. The device includes a state-of-the-art MEMS thermopile, a sensor ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and a signal processing microprocessor in a tiny package of only 12.0mm x 11.6mm x 9.2mm. The D6T-1A-02 features a narrow field of view of 26.5 degrees square, allowing it to accurately assess the surface temperature of a specific object in this area. Features also include a digital I2C output which offers excellent noise immunity (measured as noise equivalent temperature difference) of 140mK.

The Omron D6T thermal sensor is also ideal for building automation applications, measuring the temperature in a room, or detecting occupancy even when people are stationary. For these applications, Omron is offering versions with a wider field of view. These include a 1x1 device, the D6T-1A-01, with a field 58 degrees square. A 4x4 version and a 1x8 version are also available. These ultra-sensitive sensors are an outstanding alternative to pyroelectric sensors or PIR detectors in home automation, building automation, healthcare, security and industrial applications, which often fail to distinguish between an unoccupied space and a stationary person.

While standard thermal sensors are only able to measure temperature at one contact point, the D6T range can measure the temperature of an entire area contactlessly. Signals generated by infrared rays are extremely weak. To achieve reliable detection, Omron has developed and manufactured every part of the new high sensitivity thermal sensor in-house, from the MEMS sensors to the ASICs and other application-specific parts.

The technology behind Omron’s D6T thermal sensors combines a MEMS micro-mirror structure for efficient IR radiation detection with a high-performance silicon lens to focus the infrared rays onto its thermopiles. The ASIC then uses proprietary algorithms to make the necessary computations and convert sensor signals into digital I2C outputs. All components were developed in-house and are fabricated in Omron’s own MEMS facilities.

@OmronEurope #PAuto