Electricity from Low-Grade Heat: Looking for Partners to Scale Up Membrane Innovation

Introduction

Each year, large amounts of industrial waste heat are lost. While technologies exist for medium- and high-grade heat recovery, low-grade waste heat (< 100 °C) remains underutilized. Harnessing this energy source cost-effectively has long been a challenge.

With the MemPower® technology, capable of producing both electricity and high-quality water from low-grade thermal sources (e.g., solar, waste heat), that problem can be solved. A closed-loop system – the Thermo-Osmotic Energy Converter (TOEC) – forms the core of this breakthrough, offering efficient conversion of heat into electricity.

Project description

The goal is to develop and demonstrate an innovative membrane contactor that integrates multiple functions of a power cycle — evaporation, condensation, and pressurisation — into one compact device. This will be a closed-loop version of the MemPower® concept.

The project includes:

• Working fluid selection and optimisation
• Membrane selection and testing
• Module design and prototyping
• Lab-scale demonstration and KPI evaluation
• Process modeling and cost estimation

Participating partners will gain early access to a unique power-from-heat technology with market potential in energy, desalination, and industrial waste heat valorisation.

Looking for partners

We are looking for partners to co-develop this novel membrane technology and its integration into heat-to-power systems. We're especially interested in end-users from heat-intensive sectors, and innovative suppliers of membranes and energy systems.

Contributions in cash and in-kind (e.g. expertise, components, test capacity) are requested.