MAN Energy, Bonatti to Build Bioenergy Power Plant in Corsica
MAN Energy Solutions will provide eight 18V51/60 engines and its after-sales brand will provide spare parts, technical services, and more over 25 years.
Bonatti and MAN Energy Solutions signed a contract to build and maintain EDF PEI’s new Ricanto bioenergy power plant in Corsica. Replacing the old Le Vazzio plant in late 2027 or early 2028, the new facility will feature eight 18V51/60 engines with a total capacity of 130 MW, supplying power to the Corsican electrical grid.
“We are proud to be involved in this project with Bonatti, which will help reduce CO2 emissions from power generation in Corsica,” said Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions. “The Ricanto power plant will play an essential role in guaranteeing Corsica's energy security while significantly minimizing its ecological impact. MAN 18V51/60 engines are specially designed to accommodate running on liquid biomass with optimum performance and efficiency.”
Contract signing; image credit: MAN Energy Solutions
Under the contract, MAN PrimeServ will conduct maintenance over a 25-year period, including:
- Provision for spare parts
- Major maintenance services
- Technical services
- Training modules for EDF-PEI employees
MAN Energy’s after-sales brand currently provides maintenance for numerous plants owned by EDF-PEI—a subsidiary of Électricité de France SA that constructs and operates power generation facilities in French foreign regions, including Corsica.
MAN Energy News
This week, MAN Energy Solutions’ industrial-scale seawater heat pump was commissioned and began operation at DIN Forsyning’s heat pump plant in Esbjerg, Denmark, which supplies approximately 280,000 MWh of heat per year to local district heating networks. The CO2-based heat pump system has a 70-MW total heating capacity and operates in tandem with a 60-MW wood chip boiler and 40-MW electric boiler plant—a peak and backup load facility.
The plant utilizes renewable energy from regional wind farms and seawater as a heat source, delivering heat to 25,000 households and reducing CO2 emissions by 120,000 tons annually. The pump-driven plant aligns with Esbjerg’s aim to reach climate neutrality by 2030, transitioning the city’s coal-fired power plant that recently ended operations. DIN Forsyning’s plant is equipped with two oil-free, hermitically sealed HOFIM motor-compressors that use high-speed motors and active magnetic bearings, minimizing maintenance requirements. These units and auxiliary systems will be integrated with remote monitoring, data analytics, and diagnostics.
In early October, a subsidiary of MAN Energy Solutions and formerly known as H-TEC SYSTEMS—Quest One—opened a new gigahub in Hamburg, Germany, for the serial and automated production of electrolysis stacks. Serial production of PEM electrolysis stacks, the technological centerpiece of electrolyzers, will increase green hydrogen availability. Series production also allows green hydrogen to become a reliable alternative to fossil fuels.
The gigahub was built in under two years on a site measuring over 26,000 square meters in Victoria Park—the floor area measures over 12,000 square meters. At full capacity, the gigahub will enable the automated series production of PEM stacks with a potential total electrolysis capacity of more than 5 GW per year. The new production and development site enables Quest One to avoid 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through electrolyzer usage. Quest One is also researching new generations of PEM stacks.
