Press Release - Gecko Robotics is partnering with Sumitomo SHI FW Energia Polska to improve asset health for CFB boiler owners and operators.
Pittsburgh, PA: Gecko Robotics and Sumitomo SHI FW Energia Polska have announced their partnership to offer extensive inspection, damage analysis and maintenance services to CFB boiler owners and operators in the following countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania, Brazil and the Czech Republic.
“As the leading company for CFB boiler technology, Sumitomo SHI FW’s expertise coupled with Gecko’s ability to collect and display over 1000x more data than conventional methods creates the perfect partnership. We’re adding value to boiler owners and operators for confidence as it relates to asset health, globally,” states Ryan Herman, Director of Global Sales at Gecko Robotics.
“Our success has come from a track record of satisfying clients’ reliability, environmental, and efficiency goals with innovative technology for converting economical solid fuels into valuable steam and power. We are excited to partner with Gecko Robotics to deliver an even broader service portfolio for our CFB clients,” says Mariusz Karcz, Service Director at Sumitomo SHI FW Energia Polska.
Power plants are implementing CFB boilers for their ability to consume lower cost, alternative fuels. Utilizing circulating hot solids, CFB’s burn fuel during a flameless combustion process between 1472-1652°F (800-900°C), much lower than combustion temperatures in a conventional boiler. This minimizes the creation of nitrogen oxides and allows limestone to capture gases, ultimately lowering plant emissions and increasing efficiency.
Asset owners need to be well equipped to inspect and maintain this critical infrastructure. Tube failures are common in CFB units and are often attributed to corrosion and erosion of the bed material on furnace walls. Further, sporadic erosion patterns evolve quickly in unpredictable locations, making it difficult to detect this damage with manual inspection.
Led by renowned industry experts in Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Gecko’s inspection team will inspect CFB boilers using cutting-edge technology, like Rapid Ultrasonic Gridding (RUG) which pinpoints corrosion and wall loss. With this integrity data, Sumitomo Foster Wheeler experts can help asset owners adjust operation regimens while providing highly accurate maintenance recommendations and services.
About Gecko Robotics: Gecko Robotics pioneers robotic technology and software to enhance infrastructure reliability via comprehensive NDT inspections. Each year over $100B is spent to maintain the critical infrastructure that serves our world, inspections being a critical component. Using robots keeps workers away from hazardous environments and provides orders of magnitude better data coverage than traditional methods, especially in hard-to-reach areas. The data allows the owner to better diagnose equipment damage and predict future life. This results in better-targeted maintenance, lower costs, more up-time, and, most importantly, fewer deaths and injuries.
About Sumitomo SHI FW: Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) is a global, innovative provider of energy and environmental technologies and services focusing on the high efficiency and flexible generation of energy. Solutions expand from their world-leading circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology, to long duration energy storage solutions (Liquified Air Energy Storage, “CryoBattery™”), flue gas cleaning, gasification, waste heat boilers and a full spectrum of services for the global power and industrial markets. Sumitomo SHI FW strives to provide sustainable energy solutions for a wide portfolio of customer needs in the fields of power generation, storage and network services. Their quality and service relies on 1,500 talented people with deep know-how and industry experience.
For more information about CFB boiler inspection and maintenance services, reach out to us here.
