There is a business
philosophy that says you should do one thing and do it well. Find your niche,
specialize in something and establish yourself.
 |
| IST Energy's GEM is modular, making for easy transportation. Courtesy: Entrepreneur Magazine. |
That’s exactly what IST
Energy is doing. The Waltham, Mass.-based company has developed its Green Energy
Machine (GEM), a “container-sized waste-to-energy conversion system” and is
currently working on getting its first project installed at Edwards Air Force
Base in California.
What makes the GEM a
perfect fit for the military is its small size and modular shape, making it
easy to deploy to bases overseas. The system takes paper, plastic, food and
agricultural waste and shreds it before sucking out the moisture to create
dense pellets. The pellets are then fed into a downdraft gasifier which yields
a low-BTU syngas (approximately 180 BTU/SCF) that can be used in an electric
boiler or generator.
While the flagship
project was originally scheduled to be up and working in early 2011, the
project has been stalled by permitting obstacles. The company made progress in
December and hopes to be commencing demo activities soon.
Better BTU Take: With a
price tage of $1.1million and an electrical output of 72 kWe, the GEM is still
fairly expensive for the private sector. IST Energy has been smart by targeting
the military, where the price of the electricity isn’t as important as the
availability of it in remote locations.
No comments:
Post a Comment