GEA to supply heat exchangers for solar thermal power generation

By Dirk Schlichting (schlichting)

Bochum/Bilbao, June 23, 2009 – GEA Ibérica, a Spanish subsidiary of GEA Group has received an
order to design, manufacture and supply 7 surface condensers for new solar thermal power plants in
Spain with an aggregate capacity of 350 MW. Worth about EUR 6 million, the order has been placed by
Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery AB in Finspong/Sweden. The surface condensers will be
manufactured at the GEA Caldemon site in Santander/Spain. GEA Ibérica, which is part of the Energy
and Farm Technology segment, has acquired the site only recently in order to enhance its range of
production. This factory has been the supplier for surface condensers to GEA Ibérica before.
“The order rewards our strategic focus on the growing solar thermal power industry,” says Ramon
Rodriguez, Managing Director of GEA Ibérica S.A. Securing a stable workload for the Santander
factory, the order is due for delivery before the end of 2010.
GEA Ibérica, which is a subsidiary of GEA’s Thermal Engineering Division, has a history of supplying
surface condensers to solar thermal power plants in Europe.Growing future demand is expected especially from North Africa and the United States. Within the area of renewable power generation,
Solar thermal power plants have the technological advantage that they can continue to run during the
night with heat stored during daylight operation, enabling solar thermal power plants to contribute to the
base load of grids. Moreover, sunlight as a resource for power generation is free - not surprisingly,
solar thermal power is rising in demand.
GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft is one of the largest pure mechanical engineering groups in Germany.
As an internationally operating technology group, it concentrates on specialty mechanical engineering
with a focus on process technology and components. Group revenue amounted to EUR 5.2 billion in
fiscal year 2008. The group generated about 50 percent of this revenue from the long-term growing
food and beverages industries. As of March 31, 2009, a workforce of over 21,000 employees served
customers in more than 50 countries. GEA Group is a market and technology leader in 90 percent of its business areas. GEA Group is listed in the MDAX index (G1A, WKN 660200).