Framo reveals energy-generation with submerged turbine tech

Yinson is the first offshore operator to take advantage of the technology which regenerates energy from the waste cooling water flowing from offshore installations.

“Although the Submerged Turbine was launched only recently, the response from offshore industry stakeholders has been very strong,” said Sigve Gjerstad, director offshore pumping systems at Framo.

”The technology provides an ingeniously simple way for saving money while improving the sustainability of their operations.”

Regenerating electricity

Offshore installations use huge volumes of seawater to cool their onboard operations. After use, this water is then traditionally dumped back into the sea.

But since the height from the deck level to the sea level is significant, the force generated by this dumped water is considerable.

The Framo Submerged Turbine utilises this flow to generate electric power for use by the offshore facility, thereby reducing its gas fuel consumption. Testing hows that the system can generate about 20% to 30% of all power used lifting seawater to deck.

As a result of this regenerated energy capability, emissions are reduced and the customer’s CO² tax burden is eased. Furthermore, since the solution liberates gas that would otherwise be utilised for onboard energy production, there is additional gas available for sale, thus boosting revenues.

Two 1MW Framo Submerged Turbines on a mid-size offshore installation will produce the electricity equivalent to 1,000 households (16,000 kWh/household/yearly).

“This is a common sense solution that has so many benefits for our company. We are determined to do everything possible to support a low-carbon, climate resilient environment. By utilising this waste cooling water for energy production, we are making a positive contribution towards this ambition,” said Lars Gunnar Vogt, chief technology officer of Yinson.

The Framo Submerged Turbine is based on the design of the Framo SE pump, a seawater lift pump that is already in use by numerous offshore operators around the world.

Framo’s Submerged Turbine is suitable for both new projects and for retrofitting to existing facilities, regardless of the type of seawater lift pumps used.