Collaboration on breakthrough solar technology project to reduce emissions
Woodside Energy (USA), and Heliogen announced further steps towards deployment of new solar energy technology with potential to play a significant role in the development of Woodside’s future energy business.
Heliogen has been granted by Woodside a Limited Notice To Proceed (“LNTP”) to begin procurement of key equipment for a 5 megawatt (MW) commercial-scale demonstration facility in California. The proposed facility will use Heliogen’s AI-enabled concentrated solar technology.
The issuance of the LNTP follows a joint six-month feasibility study by Woodside and Heliogen and a frontend engineering and design (“FEED”) contract that commenced earlier in 2021. The companies expect Full Notice to Proceed and construction to begin in 2022.
Heliogen’s breakthrough technology is a modular, turnkey, AI-enabled concentrated solar energy system that aims to deliver clean energy with nearly 24/7 availability. The facility will utilise advanced computer vision software that precisely aligns an array of mirrors to reflect sunlight to a single target on the top of a solar tower, thereby enabling low-cost storage in the form of high-temperature thermal energy. Customers can opt to build on the baseline system that provides industrial-grade heat by adding thermal energy storage systems, a turbine for power generation, and electrolysers for green hydrogen production. The two companies also announced their intent to jointly market Heliogen’s technology in the US and Australia.
Under the proposed joint marketing arrangement, the companies will consider establishing a roadmap to collaborate on additional potential renewable energy projects, including replicating and scaling Heliogen’s modular, AI-enabled concentrated solar facility to support Woodside’s forecasted power requirements at its international locations, noting Woodside’s commitments to reduce net emissions from its existing and future businesses. The arrangements under discussion include a framework to design, optimise and sell modularised industrial-scale and cost-competitive integrated renewable energy and hydrogen solutions in the US and marketing rights for Woodside in Australia.
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