Lockheed Martin, Concord Blue to Build 5-Megawatt Bioenergy Facility in Herten, Germany
Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace and defense giant recently announced a partnership with the global waste management company Concord Blue to build a 5-megawatt power generation facility in the town of Herten, Germany.
By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor
Herten, Germany—Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace and defense giant recently announced a partnership with the global waste management company Concord Blue to build a 5-megawatt power generation facility in the town of Herten, Germany.
According to a news release, the two companies have signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, under which Lockheed Martin is to handle the management, procurement and construction of the facility using Concord Blue’s Reformer Technology. Located at the Hydrogen Competence Center in the town of Herten, the bioenergy facility is expected to meet the energy needs of 5,000 homes and businesses in the area.
“Lockheed Martin is excited to manufacture the Concord Blue technology, which advances how the world addresses clean energy and waste reduction challenges,” says Mauricio Vargas, bioenergy lead for Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training business.
Concord Blue’s Reformer technology converts waste to electricity through a process called steam thermolysis, patented by the company in 2002. This unique technology enables the conversion of nearly any kind of organic waste into clean, sustainable energy. Thermolysis produces no pollution, as the waste material is heated in an oxygen-free environment. The two companies signed an agreement to develop an advanced waste conversion system to address environmental and climate control issues in 2013, and Lockheed Martin was selected as the exclusive manufacturer of the Concord Blue Reformer in October 2014.
“This project represents the sixth commercial CBR, a testament not only to the technological quality of our waste-to-energy solution, but also to the economic viability,” says Charlie Thannhaeuser, founder and CEO of Concord Blue.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs approximately 113,000 people worldwide and is one of the world’s largest defense contractors. The company recently announced a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion, which could lead to the development of compact fusion reactors within the next 10 years.
