core sector communique

Innovative energy generation from tidal currents:

§  Andritz increases stake in Hammerfest Strøm, Norway

§  First 1 MW tidal turbine successfully installed in Scotland

Graz/Vienna, March 1, 2012.  International technology Group ANDRITZ increased its stake in Hammerfest Strøm AS from 33.3% to 55.4%. The other major shareholders are the local Norwegian utility company Hammerfest Energi and the Spanish utility company Iberdrola. The company will operate under the name of ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest in the future and is a world market leader in technologies for energy generation from tidal currents occurring in coastal waters.

In December 2011, ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest successfully installed its self-developed HS1000 tidal current turbine with a capacity of 1,000 kW in the waters of the European Marine Energy Centre, Scotland. Operation of the pilot plant is stable, and the first power was supplied to the grid already at the beginning of February this year. Further extensive load tests are currently underway, the commercial use can commence after this comprehensive testing phase.

The horizontal axis turbine is installed on the sea bed, and the rotor blades are driven by tidal currents. A 280° blade pitching system allows optimum rotor blade adjustment to the direction and speed of the tidal current. Thanks to the regularity of tidal currents compared to other renewable energy resources, a major advantage is the predictability of energy generation.

The new HS1000 turbine is based on the technology of the HS300, which was installed in Norway in 2003 as the first tidal current turbine with permanent connection to the public grid worldwide. This plant provides the core technology for installation of the first commercial underwater energy arrays. The first projects are currently being developed e.g. in Scotland.

The ANDRITZ GROUP

International technology Group ANDRITZ is a globally leading supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors, the steel industry, and the production of animal feed and biomass pellets. In addition, ANDRITZ offers technologies for certain other sectors including automation, pumps, machinery for nonwovens and plastic films, steam boiler plants, biomass boilers and gasification plants for energy generation, flue gas cleaning plants, plants for the production of panelboard (MDF), thermal sludge utilization, and torrefaction plants. The publicly listed ANDRITZ GROUP is headquartered in Graz, Austria and has a staff of approximately 16,700 employees worldwide. ANDRITZ operates over 180 production sites as well as service and sales companies all around the world.

ANDRITZ HYDRO

ANDRITZ HYDRO is a global supplier of electromechanical equipment and services for hydropower plants. With over 170 years of accumulated experience and more than 30,000 turbines installed totaling approximately 400,000 MW output, ANDRITZ HYDRO is a leader in the world market for hydraulic power generation, offering the complete product portfolio including turbines, generators, and additional equipment of all types and sizes: "water to wire" from small hydro applications up to outputs of more than 800 MW. Additionally, ANDRITZ HYDRO holds a top position in the growing power plant service, refurbishment, and upgrade market. Further fields of activity are development, design, and manufacture of pumps for selected applications (e.g. for water transport, in the energy sector, in the pulp and paper industry) and of turbo generators for gas and steam power plants.