The UAE-based startup, Seramic Materials has developed a patented technology for recycling industrial solid waste into a high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES) product, a circular economy solution that minimizes waste while also encouraging the development of renewable energy.
Seramic Materials is supported by The Catalyst, the region’s first clean technology startup accelerator, which offers training and mentorship, and granted $150,000 last year.
According to the reports, Seramic Materials developed the breakthrough new product ‘ReThink Seramic – Flora’ at its Masdar City headquarters. It is a technical ceramic that can store heat at temperatures up to 1250°C.
This enables the storage of thermal energy from process heat in concentrated solar power (CSP) or industrial waste heat recovery systems, as well as electrical energy generated by renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaic, wind, or even excess grid electricity.
ReThink Seramic – Flora, made entirely of recycled materials in a 100 percent carbon offset technique, offers a sustainable solution at a far cheaper price point than other commercially available TES materials.
Abdulla Balalaa Executive Director Masdar City
“This ground-breaking product from Seramic Materials was developed at their base in Masdar City a testament to being Abu Dhabi’s only planned and approved research and development (R&D) cluster. Thermal energy storage is a technology with enormous potential, helping to overcome the intermittency challenges of renewable energy and mitigating climate change. Part of our work at Masdar City is helping start-ups like Seramic Materials to test new technologies, explore opportunities and build their networks, hence, helping to amplify their efforts and deliver a more sustainable future.”
“The development of innovations like ReThink Seramic – Flora, further enhances the City’s status as the key regional hub for the development of transformative technologies. Seramic Materials has also been ranked fourth in a global list of recycling start-ups, the only company from the Arab world to be recognized, so we are very proud to have them as part of our dynamic community,” Mr. Balalaa added.
Dr. Nicolas Calvet, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Seramic Materials said, “By replacing an expensive raw material with a waste locally generated, we are significantly cutting the cost of our ceramic products. Flora is a game-changer in high-temperature applications over 600 C as up to now the bottleneck was the high cost of the ceramic material itself.”
Seramic Materials has also announced its first commercial customer, with StorEnergy DOO receiving 24 tonnes of the Flora solution for a demonstrator project at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA) in the south of Spain. In this demonstrator, Flora will be thermally cycled up to 800°C. In the future, StorEnergy intends to reach higher temperatures as Flora can withstand temperatures over 1000°C.
