Southeast Asia’s first industrial heat battery starts operation
The unit unveiled is a 33 MWh Rondo Heat Battery, the first built on Rondo’s new modular platform. The heat battery is now delivering 2.3 MWth of continuous steam, charged from the grid and a nearby floating solar farm.
US firm Rondo Energy and SCG Cleanergy, a subsidiary of ASEAN business conglomerate SCG specializing in clean energy solutions, have announced the start of operation of Southeast Asia’s first heat battery at SCG’s cement plant in Saraburi Province, Thailand.
The heat battery is now delivering 2.3 MWth of continuous steam, charged from the grid and a nearby floating solar farm. Superheated steam delivered by the unit drives a steam turbine, generating 24-hour clean electricity used in cement production, Rondo said in a press release.
The unit unveiled is a 33 MWh Rondo Heat Battery, the first built on Rondo’s new modular platform. Rondo now offers the Rondo Heat Battery with sizes ranging from 33 MWh to >1GWh, all with a common design, common construction, and common supply chain.
Rondo’s modular platform combines the benefits of a mass manufactured common core design that delivers certainty for customers and investors, with the ability to configure heat output, steam conditions, storage size, charging rate, and other aspects of the heat battery to deliver maximized project value, the company said.
The companies also announced that SCG Cleanergy is now developing clean industrial heat projects powered by Rondo’s technology to serve customers across Southeast Asia.
“This project shows that powering industry with clean energy is not just possible—it’s economical and fast,” said Rondo CEO Eric Trusiewicz. “Our team and SCG built this first-of-its-kind system in just eight months. It’s a model for how industry can go electric anywhere in the world.”
“Integrating the Rondo Heat Battery marks a turning point for Southeast Asian industry because heat-intensive industries like textiles, chemicals, and food processing are growing rapidly here,” said Attapong Sathitmanothum, CEO of SCG Cleanergy,”.
He added that SCG Cleanergy was bringing SCG’s strengths and new technologies to deliver low-cost clean energy to help “our customers across the region decarbonize as they grow.”
