Cleantech company Swedish Stirling has signed an exclusivity agreement with Glencore Operations South Africa’s alloys division, which grants it exclusivity in negotiating the installation of initially up to 25 PWR BLOK 400-F at a 9.9 MW power generation facility at a Glencore smelter, in Lydenburg, South Africa.

On completion, the facility will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from the smelter by more than 80 000 t/y, owing to the reduced need to buy electricity from the national grid, which is mostly powered by coal-fired plants.

The agreement entails an in-principle but nonbinding agreement regarding exclusivity to all residual gas from the smelter in Lydenburg, price, delivery terms, emission credits and term of the agreement.

The agreement is subject to definitive agreements being concluded between the parties and Glencore obtaining all required internal approvals.

The power generation facility will be owned and operated through a special purpose vehicle to be established and controlled by Swedish Stirling.

Swedish Stirling intends to, but has not yet secured, financing for the facility in its entirety through a combination of equity, green bonds and/or bank financing.

 “The fact that one of the world’s largest commodity companies chooses to invest in such a large commercial project is a true quality rating for the Swedish environmental technology industry.

“We now have the opportunity, on a large scale, to prove commercially that PWR BLOK is the cheapest way to produce electricity that exists today, and that the technology provides greater carbon dioxide (CO₂) savings per invested euro than any other type of energy,” Swedish Stirling CEO Gunnar Larsson says.

Stirling Silver’s PWR BLOK 400-F is a container-based solution in which its Stirling engines are used to harness energy from flare and industrial residual gas combustion.

This enables considerable electricity and cost savings to industries, as well as reduces global CO₂ emissions.