Following the sun

A parabolic trough used in concentrated solar power (CSP) plants.

BlueSky Process Solutions are looking to the solar industry for exponential revenue growth. Product development vice president Zvonko Milanovic talks about the market potential for his products.

The Middle East has long been a place where companies supplying the energy industry come in search of growth, and BlueSky Process Solutions makes no exception here.

But the Canadian firm has diversified its product range to supply solar, nuclear and geothermal installations, enabling it to benefit from the trend towards alternative energy that is gaining momentum in the region.

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The company was established in 2000, selling high pressure piping components for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Its ball joints were designed to cater for expanding pipes used for pumping steam into the ground, which in turn pushes heavy oil towards the surface.

Steam pipes used in EOR can expand lengthwise by up to a metre, necessitating a flexible system to reduce pipe stress. As BlueSky came to realise, a similar mechanism is needed in concentrated solar power (CSP) parabolic trough installations.

The CSP troughs create energy by reflecting sunlight onto a tube running down its middle, heating up the liquid inside, which is then used to power a steam turbine.

The troughs move to follow the sunlight during the course of the day, and the holding mechanism thus needs to cater for this movement by allowing for a great amount of flexibility.

The need for flexibility is increased by the fact that, like EOR piping, CSP tubes expand as they are heated up. These similarities made it easy for BlueSky to develop its SolarBall ball joint.

The company is looking to strike it big in alternative energies, says Zvonko Milanovic, vice president of product development: “We expect solar become 50-60 percent of our business.”

This is partially a function of size. As a young company, Blue Sky is still expanding rapidly, with an annual growth target of 25 percent. In addition, the size modern CSP installations are such that winning a contract to equip them would equal a significant jump in revenue.

“One solar installation is twice our annual sales right now. Its a huge potential,” says Milanovic.