Rolls-Royce Gets Green

Rolls-Royce said its new B36:45 L6 and L9 gas engines will power five greenhouse projects in Belgium and Netherlands.

The B36:45L gas engine is a medium-speed, spark-ignited lean-burn unit designed to produce up to 5.3 MW of electrical. It is available in 6- and 9-cylinder versions and has a bore and stroke of 360X450 mm. The design has been driven by stringent requirements for lower exhaust emissions, highest possible electrical and heat recovery efficiency coupled with extreme reliability, the company said. It offers a 20% increase in power per cylinder compared to existing engines in the Rolls-Royce medium-speed range. The engines are produced at Bergen Engines AS, which is part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems.

“The B36:45 engine is defined by our customers and embodies over 70 years’ engine experience in a modern package,” said Jeff Elliott, managing director of Bergen Engines. “Our early sales success with this new generation of gas engines is a positive sign that it’s being well received in the market.”

The new contracts comprise a total of seven engines which will provide heat and power to both new and existing greenhouses. Customers include MTS de Jong Francke in Holland, and VW Tuinderijen, Tuinbouwbedrijf Marc Pittoors (T.B.M.P), Tomato Masters and Tomw@tt in Belgium.

“For our tomato producing company, three factors were crucial in taking this decision: best electrical efficiency in the market, Rolls-Royce’s expertise with gas engines since the early 90s being a pioneer in lean-burn technology, and optimum heat balance,” said Marc Pittoors, CEO of T.B.M.P.

Rolls-Royce will be supplying and installing the complete CHP systems for the five greenhouses, consisting of generating sets, sound enclosures, exhaust gas systems including selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and heat recovery systems, and control and protection systems.

The electrical power produced will primarily be used for greenhouse grow lights or exported to the regional grids, the company said. Heat extracted from the exhaust gas and the engine’s cooling water system will provide heating, and cleaned CO² from the engines will be injected into the greenhouses to boost plant growth. In total, the technology achieves efficiency levels of more than 96%, the company said.

All five projects will be handed over to customers in 2018 and will be covered by long-term service and maintenance agreements with Rolls-Royce.