Svante Bundgaard
Green energy solutions have traditionally been unable to compete on cost. Aalborg CSP’s Svante Bundgaard wants to change that.
With Europe setting its carbon emissions target to a reduction of 20% by 2020, innovation in the green energy sector is required now more than ever. Aalborg CSP is leading the charge, taking its extensive experience in concentrated solar power (CSP) projects all over the world and combining them with other sources to produce integrated energy systems aimed not just at reducing emissions, but reducing costs as well.
When he first joined the business, current CEO Svante Bundgaard saw enormous potential to create competitive green energy solutions. Coming from a wind power background, where the industry is highly dependent on government subsidies and tax breaks, Svante wanted to move the green energy sector forward to a place where it is independently sustainable and affordable.
"With the technology that this company has," he says, "we are able to create solutions where we integrate different types of energy systems in a manner which is also simple—through our background in thermal systems and boiler know-how—and then create cost savings for our clients by providing electricity, heating, water, and other solutions.
"My vision is that we need to create renewable energy which is competitive, because then renewable energy will be chosen both for price and also for future emissions, and then we are not dependent on politicians. We will have a marketplace which is viable on its own terms and that’s the vision also for the company today."
Aalborg CSP works on a variety of projects, from large-scale power plants to smaller industrial energy technologies. The key to all of these is that the entire energy needs are met via one integrated system. "All business—be it manufacturing, mining, dairy, or textiles—has an integrated demand. They need electricity, fresh water, heating, and maybe steam for cleaning or other things. So here we see ourselves as a technology provider, and a system developer, to create those kinds of solutions in a cost-effective way.
"We have a very good knowledge of energy systems and boiler systems for clients, industries, and power plants. A CSP technology project is basically a boiler and a steam turbine project and these kinds of systems require optimised conditions and performance in order to deliver the best results. We have a unique combination, which allows us to optimise in ways which are not always being thought of by the normal energy suppliers in the market and this means that we are very agile.