Thermax inks deal with US firm for supercritical boilers

Mumbai, March 10: Energy and environment solutions company Thermax Wednesday announced a joint venture with US based Babcock and Wilcox Power Generation group (B and W PGG) to manufacture super-critical boilers for the power sector.

Thermax will own 51 percent share of the joint venture while B and W PGG will have 49 percent.

The new entity will also manufacture sub-critical boilers of over 300 MW in capacity.

"In B and W, our joint venture partner, we have a global technology leader whose boilers generate over 300,000 MW of power around the world," said M.S. Unnikrishnan, managing director and chief executive of Thermax.

Supercritical boilers operate at higher pressures than subcritical boilers, increasing efficiency and producing more energy from the same amount of fuel.

The supercritical boilers will be manufactured in a new facility. The plant, with an annual capacity of 3000 MW equivalent in the first phase, will indigenise the technology and contribute to local component development.

Thermax and B and W have maintained a business relationship for over 20 years. In 2008, Thermax had signed a technology transfer agreement with B and W PGG for manufacturing sub-critical boilers.