TESSKW1 FEED study commences

Knode is excited to announce the front end engineering and design (FEED) study for the TESSKW1 thermal energy storage system (TESS) project has commenced. We are also very pleased to announce on behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded the project a grant of $2.95m of the total $4.6m funding required to complete FEED study.

TESSKW1 is an exciting project for a number of reasons. At completion it will be one of the largest latent heat TESS installations on the globe, utilising state of the art storage blocks to deliver process heat around the clock to an industrial customer. Thermal storage provides a viable pathway for heavy industry to decarbonise industrial heat, one of the major users of final energy globally.

TESSKW1 also represents a first commercial scale project for @mgathermal, our technology partner and the innovative force behind MGA blocks. We’ve been working alongside the team for the last 4 years and the FEED is an important milestone for both teams. We have a firm view that MGA blocks are the best thermal storage solution on the market and that latent heat storage will be a crucial technology supporting industry as it electrifies.

An old saying goes, “hardware is hard.” We are as acutely aware of the challenges in commercialising physical technology. Those hurdles go well beyond the lab, and progressing a project of this scale requires input from a range of parties.

To tackle this, we’ve taken a consortium approach from the original PFS right through to this FEED. We’d like to extend a massive thank you to Tronox, and MGA Thermal—not just for their participation, but for their willingness to roll up their sleeves and do the heavy lifting with us. GHD will again support us through the FEED phase.

Thermal storage is a vital innovation for heavy industry. Beyond offering a realistic pathway to zero emissions, it holds the promise of doing so economically. By insulating industry from punitive carbon imposts, volatile fuel pricing, and vulnerable supply chains, decarbonised heat is as much an economic win as it is an environmental one.

We look forward to sharing more updates as the FEED progresses!

“This Project received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of ARENA’s Industrial Transformation Stream Program.”