Organic Rankine Cycles: the energy economics?

This data-file captures the economics of an Organic Rankine Cycle engine to recover low-grade waste heat (at 70-200C) from an industrial facility, or in the geothermal industry. A CO2 price of $50-75/ton could greatly accelerate adoption and improve the efficiency of industrial facilities.


Our model draws on past project data and technical papers to estimate costs (in $/kW) and thermal efficiency levels (in %). This shows how economics vary with facility size (below) and how large an industrial facility needs to be to be able to install an Organic  Rankine Cycle heat recovery system.

Notes on the industry are also tabulated, including how the technology works, total market size, capacity and leading companies ranked by past project deliveries.

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