Beneo Orafti trusts flexcity to valorize its turbine

The Oreye site of Beneo Orafti has decided to participate in the new market of the Belgian secondary reserve (aFRR) with its gas turbine and thanks to the Flexcity expertise.  While creating a new revenue stream, this participation takes into account the site process to avoid any impacts on its activity. 

Beneo Orafti: an ambitious company  

Beneo, part of the Südzucker group, produces functional ingredients principally dedicated to the agri-food industry. 

The Beneo Oreye site is engaged in a long-term energy efficiency program. Their main target is being carbon neutral by 2050 and they have already achieved to reduce their CO² emissions by 40% since 2010. This engagement also led to an investment in a new gas turbine and a heat recovery boiler: they enable the electrical autonomy of the site and even the export of a part of its electrical power into the grid.  

[...] When we invested in the new gas turbine, we naturally thought how to improve its profitability by participating in flexibility services.  

Guillaume Poncelet, Power Plant Engineer à Beneo Orafti Oreye

Flexcity’s solution

In this context of energy efforts, the innovative Flexcity solutions optimize the Beneo Oreye electric installations and make them participate in the support of the Belgian and European electric grid. From the Flexcity’s analysis and thanks to its modulability, the gas turbine fulfilled the different criteria to be valorized by electrical flexibility services without impacting on the site process.  

The valorization consists in a participation in the secondary reserve of the Belgian electrical grid, usually called aFRR or R2. The aFRR enables the balancing between the electrical supply and demand on the grid in case of electricity shortages but also of electricity surplus. 

Lien Van Schepdael, Technical Account Manager at Flexcity, next to the gas turbine of Beneo Orafti Oreye and with Guillaume Poncelet, Power Plant Engineer at Beneo.

Thanks to Flexcity’s technology and market expertise, the Beneo Oreye gas turbine can be activated several times in a day to produce less electricity for few minutes. These activations helpsto relieve the electrical grid in case of electricity surplus and happen only when the turbine is available to produce less. The modern system of the heat recovery boiler also plays a role by offsetting the electricity production loss and avoiding any impact on the industry process. Flexcity remunerates Beneo for making its own installation available for the needs of the electrical grid. The Oreye site benefits from a new revenue stream and could dedicate it to their energy efficiency program for instance. 

Benefits: supplementary revenues that facilitate the energy transition 

Beneo Orafti benefits from different aspects by participating to the Flexcity services:  

• Optimization of the gas turbine: Flexcity analyzes the availability of the turbine to make it flexible. 
• Creation of new revenues. 
• Supplementary action added to Beneo energy efficiency program.  
• Participation in the Belgian and European balancing of the electrical grid. 
• Support to the energy transition and inclusion of renewables.

Thus, Flexcity proposes to Beneo Orafti Oreye a new solution to reduce their energy costs and they now join forces to create the electrical grids of tomorrow. 

Flexcity has shown a keen interest and has been proactive to assist us for our first steps in the aFRR market. 

Guillaume Poncelet, Power Plant Engineer Beneo

Beneo website: https://www.beneo.com/ 

To find out more about aFRR, please do not hesitate to consult our webinar or contact us.