SPX, Thermax to control power plant emissions in new JV

Charlotte, N.C.-based SPX (NYSE:SPW) and Pune, India-based Thermax said today they are forming a joint venture to market SPX’s emissions-control equipment for the power industry in India and selectively in Southeast Asia.

Thermax, which specializes in energy and environmental engineering, is expected to own 51 percent of the venture, which would be based in Pune, located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. SPX would own the remaining 49 percent. Financial details were not disclosed.

SPX is a multi-industry manufacturing company, with an emphasis on the growing demand for energy and power.

The new joint venture is expected to produce the emissions-control equipment for power plants of any size, including those that exceed 300 megawatts.

The joint venture is expected to initially focus on three product lines for large coal-fired power plants. The products include electrostatic precipitators, bag filters and Balcke-Dürr-branded rotary heat exchangers. The electrostatic precipitators and bag filters are used to control emissions, while heat exchangers help to improve plant efficiency.

Thermax has been licensing SPX’s sub-300 MW electrostatic precipitator technology, aimed at serving smaller power facilities, since 2007.

The joint venture reflects India's push to help meet increased demand for power and energy. The country’s government has introduced plans to build ultra-megawatt power stations, with approximately 4,000 MW capacity, to more quickly boost power generation (see Sweet new source of renewable energy in India and Indian businesses lament lack of renewable energy).

India's power grid can be intermittent and insufficient. It is estimated to have a 15 percent to 17 percent energy shortfall during peak demand (see India to remove cap on wind incentives).

In 2008, the International Energy Agency predicted $1.8 trillion would be invested in India’s energy infrastructure between 2007 and 2030. The IEA also suggested India's energy demand would increase more than every other country except China, growing by more than 600 million tons of oil equivalent by 2030 (see International body calls for $45T investment in energy infrastructure).

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