OREANDA-NEWS.  Highlighting the growing demand for distributed power solutions to meet Africa’s industrial energy demands, GE (NYSE: GE) today announced it will supply three of its 4-megawatt (MW) Jenbacher J624 gas engines and one of its 2-MW J612 units to power a new factory that will produce billions of syringes and intravenous (IV) drug products that are needed each year to fight against malaria in Africa.

Clarke Energy—GE’s authorized distributor of Jenbacher gas engines in Nigeria—will install the 14-MW cogeneration plant at the syringe and IV products factory on behalf of Nigeria-based Integrated Medical Industries Limited (IMIL). Based in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, IMIL is the first company in the West African sub-region to obtain World Health Organization (WHO) pre-qualification for auto-disable syringes. IMIL is solely owned by the Rivers State Government in Nigeria.

IMIL, which was established by the Pan African Health Foundation (PAHF), with the sponsorship and collaboration of the Rivers State Government, recently began implementing the USD 275 million, integrated medical industries project to expand the availability of needed syringes and IV products. PAHF operates an existing equipment production facility at the IMIL site.

IMIL’s new syringe and IV products operation is scheduled to start production in 2014. Each year, the new facility is expected to produce 1 billion syringes, 1 billion hypodermic needles, 105 million sets of IV bags and 90 million liters of IV solutions, medications and injectables.

“We selected Clarke Energy and GE’s Jenbacher gas engines following a comprehensive assessment of technology options. Using gas as a fuel will provide us significant cost savings compared to diesel. We are confident this will deliver reliable supplies of power to our production plant using the most advanced technology,” said Amenya Wokoma, executive project director for IMIL.

Reliable power supplies are essential for smooth operation of the syringe factory since power interruptions can damage batches of syringes. Demand for electricity in Nigeria is high, and the national grid has a challenge meeting this demand. The cogeneration facility, however, will rely on Nigeria’s own growing gas distribution network to ensure it has a reliable fuel supply.

IMIL also selected the Jenbacher gas engines to take advantage of lower natural gas prices compared to diesel fuel, with the additional capital expenditure typically being paid off between 12 to 18 months. The power plant will be installed within the manufacturing facility and will operate in island mode to provide reliable on-site electrical power and heat.

GE’s Jenbacher combined heat and power (CHP) technology also will help IMIL reduce its fuel costs and power plant emissions by offering greater energy efficiencies compared to the use of separate generating systems to produce electricity and useful heat. The Jenbacher J624 units will offer an electrical efficiency of 43.1 percent. In addition, the engines’ exhaust will be passed into a steam generator to produce steam in a boiler.

GE’s four Jenbacher gas engines can provide electrical power for about 27,500 average EU homes, saving about 18,900 tons of CO2 per year[1]. This is equal to the annual CO2 emissions of more than 9,300 EU cars.

The new factory comes at a crucial time in Africa’s fight against malaria and other infectious diseases. According to the WHO, about half the world’s population is at risk of malaria. People living in poor regions are at most risk from malaria. In 2010 alone, the WHO reported that 90 percent of all malaria deaths occurred in the WHO African Region, mostly among children under five years of age.[2]

In addition to supporting Nigeria’s fight against infectious diseases, the on-site power plant also will contribute to the Nigerian government’s ambitious targets to modernize the nation’s electrical generation infrastructure. The new cogeneration plant will be the first power project in sub-Saharan Africa to utilize GE’s 24-cylinder J624 gas engines. GE’s J624 is the world’s first 24-cylinder gas engine and is characterised by high efficiency and reliable performance.

“When it comes to deploying the best available distributed power solutions to the front lines of Africa’s battle against malaria, IMIL recognized that GE’s J624 technology is ideally suited to ensure it has the power needed to maintain its production of vital medical equipment,” said Karl Wetzlmayer, general manager of gas engines for power generation—GE Power & Water.

GE is scheduled to deliver the J624 and J612 units in the third quarter of 2013. Clarke Energy is serving as the single point of contact from initial sale, project management, engineering, installation through to commissioning, and long-term maintenance of the power plant.

GE and Clarke Energy share a long history of deploying innovative Jenbacher gas engine distributed power solutions to help industrial companies in Nigeria and other African nations achieve significant energy security, financial and environmental benefits. Other noteworthy projects include:

In 2012, U.K.-based Diageo plc, a leading global alcohol beverage company, once again tapped Clarke Energy to install two 3.3-MW CHP plants featuring GE gas engines at its Guinness breweries in Ogba and Benin City, Nigeria, to lower their energy costs and increase production.
In 2008, flour producer Honeywell Flour Mills plc, installed four of GE’s JMS620 GS-NL high-efficiency gas engines to provide a more stable, on-site source of electricity to support production at its milling operation in Apapa, the port area of Lagos. In 2011, to meet the mills increased power requirements, Honeywell added a fifth Jenbacher JMS620 unit.
In 2008, multinational pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) contracted with Clarke Energy to install two 1-MW Jenbacher JGC 320 GS–NL gas engines to generate reliable on-site power at its main factory in Agbara, Nigeria.


GE’s Jenbacher gas engines are a key part of GE’s distributed power portfolio, which offers customers of all types—including industrial businesses, developing communities, government agencies managing disaster relief and other emergency power situations—the ability to generate reliable, sustainable power when and where it is needed. GE’s distributed power portfolio also includes GE aeroderivative gas turbines, GE’s Waukesha gas engines and Clean Cycle waste heat recovery solutions.

GE’s ecomagination-qualified Jenbacher gas engines are ideally suited to meet IMIL’s requirements for reliability, durability and efficiency. Ecomagination is GE’s business strategy to help meet customers’ demand for products that improve their bottom line and reduce their impact on the environment.
[1] vs. the average Nigerian CO2 production
[2] WHO 2012