Saarstahl builds ORC facility to produce electricity from waste heat

Saarstahl is investing around 1.5 million euros in a new heat recovery plant at its Neunkirchen location. The plant will be used to convert process heat from the rolling mill into electricity. Designed for a capacity of approx. 200 kW, the new facility is scheduled to start up in autumn 2023 and feed the electricity it generates into the works grid.

 According to Dr. Klaus Richter, Chief Technology Officer of Saarstahl, the new plant is likely to produce up to 1,200 MWh per year.

ORC technology for heat recovery

The new facility will use ORC technology from mechanical engineering company DeVeTec. ORC, or Organic Rankine Cycle, named after the Scottish physicist William Rankine, is the original principle of the steam turbine. DeVeTec uses this process to convert waste heat from production processes into electricity, compressed air, cooling media and useful heat. The central element within this circular process is the DeVeTec-developed piston expander.