1976 Grimethorpe PFBC IEA Project

As a result of the first oil crisis in 1973, the international energy agency (IEA) in Paris initiated an international project between the nations of USA, England and Germany. With this project, it was intended, to prove, on an industrial scale, the efficient and environmentally friendly power generation by employing coal fired combined cycle operation with pressurised fluidised bed combustion.

The project was managed by the National Coal Board (UK) in Grimethorpe. South Yorkshire, England, and was financed in equal parts by the governments of USA, England and Germany. With a thermal capacity of 80 MW also employing a "Benson" once through steam generator, it was, by far, the largest and technology wise most advanced plant with this technology.

The total investment amounted to 80 million Deutschmark. The results from the construction and operation of the Grimethorpe plant were the basis for the supply of commercial power stations using this technology. ABB Carbon, for example, build a number of 300 MWel units in Sweden, USA, Germany and Japan.

Dipl. Ing, Michael Kaden was engineering manger and deputy project director during the design, construction and commissioning of the plant. During his work for NCB (IEA Grimethorpe) Ltd. he was able to contribute to the development of new component design utilised in this facility. A special feature of the project set up was, that all know how available through government sponsored projects in the three sponsoring countries was available to the project team. This know how is still relevant today for the optimisation of firing systems with fluidised bed combustion.