Thermax, SPX in JV for pollution control equipment

Date: 28-08-2009

Thermax and the $6 billion SPX Corporation of the US have entered into a joint venture to provide technology solutions for power plants with a capacity of over 300 mw. Thermax will hold 51% and SPX the rest in the venture, which will have an initial investment of Rs 25 crore. The new company will be based in Pune.

The firm will offer air pollution control equipment, which costs about $15-20 million, and has the potential to achieve annual revenue of $50-100 million in five to 10 years. Thermax already has a technology licensing agreement with Balcke-Durr, a Germany-based subsidiary of SPX, for air pollution control equipment called electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) for up to 300 mw. The new JV will benefit from the tie-up.

The venture has lined up supply-chain partners, but may initially need to source some products from SPX's overseas facilities. India is beginning to build large power plants in the super-critical category, which will necessitate increased use of coal as fuel. The new range of the Thermax-SPX ESPs will offer higher efficiencies by tackling the challenge of high ash content in Indian coal. crack crack