Wärtsilä brings Power-to-X technology to World Expo

The technology group Wärtsilä, in cooperation with Soletair Power and Q Power, will showcase its Power-to-X (P2X) competence in the Finnish Pavilion at the upcoming World Expo in Dubai. The demonstration unit will create synthetic fuel from CO2 extracted from the indoor air, thereby providing clear awareness of Wärtsilä’s commitment to delivering sustainable products and solutions to its marine and energy sector customers. The World Expo runs from October 2021 until the end of March 2022. 

The innovative P2X technology can be seen as an important steppingstone along the path towards carbon-neutral fuels and the decarbonisation of various industries. The Wärtsilä demo unit will be capturing CO2 from the air inside the Finnish pavilion and combining it with hydrogen split from water by electrolysis. Capturing CO2 from in-house air also improves the quality of the air. A biosynthesis process then converts it into carbon-neutral synthetic methane fuel, which for demonstration purposes will be used to provide clean power to make coffee for visitors to the pavilion.

“Imagine a world where your breath turns into carbon neutral fuel; participating in the World Expo, Wärtsilä invites individuals and companies to imagine the change needed for our world to be more sustainable. And with the P2X demonstration, we can show that even the most ambitious ideas can be turned into real innovations. Wärtsilä has taken a leadership position in utilising smart technologies to create a more sustainable future, both for the industries we serve and for the world in general,” says  Atte  Palomäki, Executive Vice President for Communications, Branding & Marketing at Wärtsilä Corporation.  

“Innovation is at the core of our heritage. But true impact requires intense collaboration with expert partners. Our P2X demonstration has been made possible through working closely with Soletair Power and Q Power, companies with specialised expertise in this field. We intend to show that a decarbonised future is achievable through taking advantage of innovative technologies that exist already today,” says Matti Rautkivi, Director New Business at Wärtsilä Energy.

“We are excited at the prospects for delivering completely renewable energy out of the air we breathe. This demonstration will give a real-life example of how it is possible to produce clean future fuels that will change forever the way by which machinery is operated,” says Petri Laakso, CEO at Soletair Power. 

“Q Power has developed unique technologies to enable the efficient production of carbon-neutral synthetic fuels. Our bio-based technologies enable our customers to replace fossil fuels, helping society in edging closer to a net-zero carbon future. We are pleased to work together with companies like Wärtsilä and Soletair Power. Cooperation enables us to show what concrete solutions for climate change will look like in hard-to-decarbonize sectors,” says Eero Paunonen, CEO at Q Power.

Wärtsilä is an official Dubai World Expo partner of Business Finland, the Finnish governmental organisation for innovation funding, and trade, travel and investment promotion, who are in charge of the Finnish Pavilion at the Expo. Soletair Power and Q Power are promising start-up companies with whom Wärtsilä has strategic cooperation agreements. 

Wärtsilä in brief: 

Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2019, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.