Custom Lightning Protection for a Unique Application
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. Many organizations have taken steps to reduce emissions, but in addition to reducing the amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere, some companies, including air capture technology innovator Climeworks, are attempting to offset carbon impacts by removing existing CO2 from the air.
One of Climeworks’ newest plants, “Orca,” is the largest direct air capture and CO2 storage plant in the world. It is located adjacent to ON Power’s Hellisheiði Geothermal Power Plant in Iceland and runs entirely on renewable energy. nVent is playing a critical role ensuring the continued success of Climeworks’ important mission by protecting the facility from lightning strikes.
Customized Protection
Orca has the capacity to remove 4,000 tons of CO2 per year. Once CO2 is captured by Orca, it is mixed with water and pumped deep underground, where it is trapped in stone through a natural mineralization process. The Orca plant can achieve these impressive results because of its cutting-edge electrical systems. This unique equipment needs to be protected from lightning at all times.
Electrical systems—and the people who work on and around them—need to be protected from threats. nVent systems provide protection when it matters most. While lightning strikes might not take place every day, they can be devastating to facility operations. A high-end lightning protection system can help provide peace of mind for facility staff.
Every lightning protection design must be specifically tailored to meet the conditions of the area in which projects take place and the structure that needs to be protected. There is no single approach to successful lightning protection, making engineering and design consultation an important phase of the process.
nVent worked with Mannvit, the engineering consultant responsible for the project, to evaluate the Orca site and used nVent’s lightning protection design software along with technical drawings from Climeworks and Mannvit to develop a system that was tailored to the Orca facility.
“Our experience working with nVent was excellent,” said Mannvit engineer Barry Lennon. “The sales and engineering team from nVent were always available, communicated well and took time to carefully work through changes which arose in the Orca design, ensuring the facility was fully protected in accordance with the IEC requirements for a class IV lightning protection system.”
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