EMC Technology incorporates research and development and commercialisation of innovative clean energy solutions.

Our technical team, which is supported by collaboration agents with Curtin and Nottingham Universities, are investigating cutting edge solar technologies in both photo voltaic and concentrating solar thermal, with storage a key priority. The biggest challenge for expansion of solar power technologies is the intermittent nature of solar radiation. Photo voltaic systems are limited by cloud cover and inability to produce power at night, this makes PV systems poor at load following and directly replacing fossil fuel electrical generation. Battery storage technology for PV is high cost and unlikely to offer a viable cost effective solution for energy storage.

However, other options exist for solar storage, for systems which generate heat. Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) technology converts incident solar radiation to heat, before generating electricity using a heat engine. This intermediate heat generation provides an opportunity for storage.

EMC Technology is currently developing Solar Heat Storage technologies for this application. Heat storage can allow CST systems to provide electricity during the night, allowing 24/7 electrical generation from the sun. Our technology is based on thermo-chemical reactions, these reversible reactions use heat collected during the day to cause a chemical reaction. The heat is stored as a chemical potential, which when the reaction is reversed, releases heat. This technology is ideally suited to small scale off-grid applications, such as mining sites, small towns and villages and off-grid manufacturing facilities.

EMC have designed a heat storage system for integration into commercially available CST plants, our first pilot scale plant is due to be installed in Carnarvon, WA. This 120 kWe plant will provide 24/7 electrical generation for the town.

EMC Technology are also investigating geothermal electrical generation for Western Australia. The first demonstration plant will be located at EMCs site in Carnarvon, WA, where EMC hold a power purchase agreement for our grid-connected PV plant. Carnarvon represents an ideal demonstration location for a binary cycle plant, potentially providing 5 MW from water heated to 400 °C by hot rocks 5 km below ground level. Future sites secured through a farming agreement with New World Energy, are situated across the Pilbara region providing the opportunity for 50MW of generation.

The number of lucrative grants that are available through Federal Government support reinforces EMCs technology strategy. EMC and Curtin University have together won a $3M ARC Linkage grant and EMC has lodged a further $9M in grant applications that are pending.

For further information, please contact us.