Pioneering engineering firm Qnergy targets new ESG markets as corporations prioritise methane mitigation in fight against climate emergency

 

Qnergy, the world’s leading manufacturer of clean, reliable, electric power based on linear Stirling engines – proven to reduce methane emissions by up to 98% in natural gas operations – today announced the appointment of Kevin Pang as VP, Business Development. Kevin is a scientist, entrepreneur and technologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard and his appointment will accelerate plans for expansion into new distributed methane markets such as dairy and industrial catering.

 

The company was founded in 2009 as a team of engineers solved a 200-year-old engineering problem – how to manufacture cost-effective power generators based on the Stirling engine and apply it commercially.

 

In the last four years since initial commercialization, Qnergy has grown exponentially by supplying its generators to the natural gas industry; Kevin’s hire will now help the business identify new markets and expand its offering. This follows significant interest in Qnergy’s systems by players in the landfill and farm biodigester spaces.

 

Qnergy has a proven solution employed by over 80 clients with hundreds of deployments in the oil and gas industry to help eliminate methane emissions. Energy leader TotalEnergies already announced the 98% methane reduction benefits and low abatement cost of Qnergy’s gas well emissions solution. 

 

Methane containing biogas is the next big challenge to overcome: it is a byproduct of human activities including farming, agriculture, food waste and water waste. Qnergy provides the platform by which methane generated from distributed sources like businesses, homes, industrial parks, landfills, wastewater treatment facilities and farms, can be effectively converted into useful power and energy.

 

With more energy companies – and their investors – now seeking greater proactivity in reducing methane emissions, this is a growth market.

 

Qnergy CEO Ory Zik said:

 

“Immediate conversion of distributed methane to useful energy remains the single most effective way to net zero and address the climate emergency. Methane is now well-known for being a climate change catalyst, compounding the damage caused by carbon emissions by a factor of 80 over the next 20 years. The good news is that the private sector is recognizing the value of distributed methane- practical technical solutions – such as ours – now exist to remove emissions in the first place.”

 

Qnergy VP BD Kevin Pang said:

 

“This business has solved the 200-year-old Stirling engineering challenge, and is making great strides. Building on that success, we are following the distributed methane path into other industries also challenged by waste generated spaces such as farms, landfills, food waste, and other potential markets.

 

“With large, socially responsible corporations such as Nestlé, Lactalis, Danone, Fonterra, Dairy Farmers of America and Arla Foods all looking to reduce emissions across their supply chains, we see there is huge demand for practical, reliable and sustainable methane abatement in food production and waste management.”

 

“Qnergy’s initial biogas trials show the potential to help our clients and partners reduce environmental damage, create a reliable, sustainable and low-cost power source from waste methane – and reduce emissions by replacing diesel engines.”

 

Beyond the dairy sector, Qnergy sees potential growth in many other markets; any industry that requires reliable remote power and produces ongoing quantities of methane – dairy farms, large industrial kitchens such as universities, industrial parks, hotels, military bases or prisons, garbage landfills, wastewater and more.”

 

 

Qnergy (q-ner-gy) was founded to provide reliable power using a wide range of heat sources including conventional and alternative fuels. Our power solutions help customers improve their resilience to blackouts, lower costs and reduce emissions. We are best known for our ability to provide energy in remote locations and harsh conditions where others cannot operate. Our engine design was recognized by NASA as the most reliable heat engine technology ‘in history’. 

 

Our generators are based on a proprietary Free Piston Stirling Engine technology. These engines are enclosed systems that require no lubrication, oil changes or repair, delivering many years of uninterrupted operation. Over the past two years, hundreds of our systems have endured multiple hurricanes without a single power interruption. 

 

Our methane mitigation program leverages our ability to work reliably with both raw natural gas and biogas to convert normally vented methane into useful energy. Two of the largest sources of methane emission are the oil and gas supply chain and organic waste. Our solutions address both. In oil and gas we use our generators to replace methane emissions from pneumatic devices with compressed air. We are in the process of deploying hundreds of these systems. In addition, we are testing biogas systems that turn biomethane into electricity and heat.