Burkhardt GmbH
Energie- und Gebäudetechnik
Kreutweg 2
92360 Mühlhausen
Tel.: 09185 9401-0
Fax. 09185 9401-50
E-Mail: info@burkhardt-gmbh.de
Burkhardt GmbH
Energie- und Gebäudetechnik
Kreutweg 2
92360 Mühlhausen
Tel.: 09185 9401-0
Fax. 09185 9401-50
E-Mail: info@burkhardt-gmbh.de
The town of Shimokawa lies on the island of Hokkaido, the most northerly of Japan's four main islands. This small town is best known for ski jumping, which the cold and snowy winters have made a tradition here. Since May 2019, eleven combined heat and power systems from Burkhardt have been in operation in Shimokawa and supplying electricity to the grid. The town is already the eighth location with Burkhardt wood gasifiers and has the largest number of systems in Japan.
Immediately adjacent to the new Burkhardt systems, a pellet works was simultaneously constructed. This is the first pellet works in Japan to be laid out entirely in the European style with proven plant technology from Rudnick&Enners and a pellet press from CPM; both manufacturers being represented by Sanyo Trading. The pellet works thus supplies the fuel in the quality required for the new wood gas installations. The raw material used is exclusively naturally grown, native wood from the region. With this major project, the customer, a power generating company, seeks to increase the regional value creation and drive forward the growth of the town.
The eleven wood gas systems deliver around 1.81 MW of electrical power and about 2.86 MW of heat output. The electricity generated is fed into the national grid for a feed-in tariff. The heat generated, on the other hand, is used for belt dryers and to heat the buildings of the pellet works. The advantage of a large installation of this kind over a single plant is the consistently high availability: Maintenance work can be carried out in parallel with energy production.
The focus in the Japanese market – and increasingly in Japanese energy policy – is on biomass as a renewable energy source. Burkhardt and its partner, Sanyo Trading, have thus already been able to commission 32 installations in Japan. With the major project in Shimokawa, both partners hope to set a signal for the whole country.
