Yamagata Biomass Gasification Power Plant wins gold medal for ground-breaking energy technology in Japan

The award ceremony took place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at POWER-GEN Asia 2008, which is the energy industry's largest and most important conference in South East Asia. The gold medal was awarded for the outstanding results achieved by the Japanese CHP (Combined Heat & Power Plant) Yamagata Biomass Gasification Power Plant in connection with the efficient production of environmentally friendly energy through biomass gasification. The plant is based on the unique Biomass Gasification Technology from Babcock & Wilcox Vølund. And the prestigious gold medal was awarded to the plant and Babcock & Wilcox Vølund for the Best Renewable Energy Power Plant of the Year. This distinguished prize helps to strengthen our leading global position when it comes to the knowledge and development of new technologies used in the production of environmentally friendly energy.

Babcock & Wilcox Vølund's unique technology serves as the cornerstone at the award-winning Yamagata Biomass Gasification Power Plant. The plant is one of two combined heat and power plants in Japan that have been constructed using this technology, and it produces 2 MW of electricity daily from 60 tonnes of wood chips that would otherwise end up in the refuse dump.

At the top of the list

The crowning of Yamagata Biomass Gasification Plant as "Best Renewable Energy Power Plant of the Year" demonstrates the opportunities for future initiatives in the area of waste-to-energy throughout all of Asia. And this award is the initial culmination of a higher strategy that calls for sharpening the overall focus on the production of sustainable energy in Japan.

"We are of course happy to see that our gasification technology has received yet another prestigious award. We know that it is the best gasification technology currently available on the global market, and it is thereby a state of the art solution for decentralised, high-efficiency combined heat and power plants. The gold medal is also of great acclaim to the Japanese government, who supported the initiative. The agreement with the power plant was made via our partner in Japan, Yamagata Green Power Co. Ltd. At the same time, the recognition received by Babcock & Wilcox Vølund and our client in Japan marks the strong level of engagement and the positive collaboration to service Asia with new technology for the production of sustainable energy", comments Peter Laursen, License & Partner Manager at Babcock & Wilcox Vølund.

The technology of the future

More than 70 years of experience went into developing the knowledge and technology used in efficient energy production and the construction of more than 300 power plants around the world, which has finally resulted in a client in Japan being awarded this prestigious gold medal. There are also 15 years of intensive development work behind this project, and in Denmark this technology is used at the commercial, full-scale combined heat and power plant in Harboøre.

"Today, the gasification of biomass is a strong and competitive alternative to traditional, decentralised CHPs based on biomass. The advantage of the technology is the extremely high efficiency and the coefficient of utilisation in energy production. And it is precisely this aspect that makes this technology quite attractive when compared to conventional solutions that are in use at much smaller CHPs in most places around the world", explains Peter Laursen.

The Yamagata Biomass Gasification Power Plant

The Yamagata power plant is located about 400 km north of Tokyo on the HonshüIsland in Japan, and it is owned by Yamagata Green Power Co. Ltd. The power plant is based on our updraft gasification technology", and it was constructed by the Japanese company JFE Environmental Solutions Corp., which is part of the JFE Group.

The Yamagata gasification plant – winner of the Gold Award for the best renewable energy power plant of the year. The plant produces 2 MW of electricity daily from 60 tonnes of wood chips

POWER-GEN Asia 2008 and Asian Power Awards

With more than 5,250 visitors from more than 50 countries, POWER-GEN Asia is both the largest and most important event for global companies involved in the electricity production, transmission and distribution in all of South East Asia. The Asian Power Awards is the industry's leading awards ceremony, and the purpose of the event is to strengthen and focus on Asia's best power plant projects.

For further information please contact License & Partner Manager Peter Laursen, (+45) 2462 4729