Canadian Mining Journal - August 8, 2023
Acceleware, an innovator of transformative technologies targeting the decarbonization of industrial heating, is pleased to announce that it has successfully concluded an Exploring Innovations project with the International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII), which validated the potential to use radio frequency (RF) energy from Acceleware’s Clean Tech Inverter (CTI) to dry potash and other mineral commodities.
The IMII is ramping up consideration of new energy-related technologies on behalf of its minerals industry members. With the success of the Exploring Innovations project, IMII has announced that they have invited Acceleware to submit a proposal for subsequent project phases which could lead to the development of a CTI commercial-scale drying platform with lower capital and operating costs than fossil fuels, alongside much lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions levels.
The patent-pending CTI is unique in its ability to economically decarbonize industrial heating applications even at very large scale. A commercial scale drying platform for mining would augment Acceleware’s portfolio of decarbonization applications. Currently, Acceleware is in final phases of testing at its commercial scale pilot for electrification of heavy oil production via RF XL, the first of several industrial heating applications that Acceleware is commercializing.
“A CTI commercial-scale drying platform with lower capital and operating costs could present an opportunity for a sustainability win for the minerals industry, reducing energy and improving economics, while lowering GHGs,” said Al Shpyth, IMII’s executive director. “As the minerals industry shifts focus to innovative solutions for a lower environmental footprint, we see economic benefits and sustainability going hand-in-hand in many instances and are actively seeking out those opportunities.”
Additional work is underway at Acceleware for decarbonization of other heavy emitting industrial heating applications that will play a critical role in a successful energy transition, including agricultural drying and the production of hydrogen via methane pyrolysis.