Curaçao Ocean Ecopark Selected as Leading Sustainable Solution

London, United Kingdom, June 9, 2013

Today sees the launch of a new sustainability guide, Sustainia100, that identifies the most innovative sustainable solutions around the world. Curaçao Ocean Ecopark is selected as part of Sustainia100 for its positive social, economic and environmental impact on local communities. From Canada to Kenya, Guatemala to the Philippines, Sustainia100 presents the 100 most innovative and impactful solutions out of 500+ nominated projects and technologies.

“It is an honor that the jury has selected our project in Curacao as one of the finalists. We are excited that the thermal potential of our oceans is being recognized as a major and clean resource for the production of renewable energy, fresh water and food. Tropical regions will account for a large share of global increases in energy demand. Providing a sustainable, scalable, and economical energy solution for these regions will address a major sustainability issue while serving as an incubator for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion technology.” says Mr. Remi Blokker, CEO of Bluerise

Sustainia100 is a tool for investors, business leaders, decision makers and consumers as it provides insights to the most promising solutions at the forefront of sustainable transformation.

Erik Rasmussen, Founder of Sustainia: ”Congratulations to the selected 100 solutions. They are true action heroes of sustainability. In each their field, these solutions have proved that sustainable alternatives are not only available, but also attractive, competitive and successful. Each and every solution give us hope for a faster transformation to a sustainable future.”

Award to the Best Solution

As a selected Sustainia100 solution, Curaçao Ocean Ecopark also enters the field of nominees for international sustainability award, Sustainia Award, chaired by former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mr. Schwarzenegger heads the selection jury that also includes former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard and Chair of the UN climate panel, IPCC, Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri. Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action: “It is really encouraging to see that new, innovative solutions continue to emerge in all parts of the world. Here is all the proof we need that sustainable solutions work, that they are profitable, desirable and successful. I look forward to awarding the best one at this year’s Sustainia Award Ceremony.”

The winner of Sustainia Award is announced at a ceremony in Copenhagen, November 7th, 2013. The EU Commissioner will furthermore reward the best European solution.

New Solutions and Trends in Sustainability

Research and data behind Sustainia100 reflect new market trends and developments. Increasingly, sustainable innovation acknowledges the importance of consumer behavior by giving users access to data that drive them to change their energy and fuel consumption. More and more, sustainable solutions are using big data analytics to lower waste. Selected solutions also include; waterless dyeing of fashion garments; intelligent streetlights and a virtual power plant. Sustainia100 identifies solutions within 10 sectors: Education, Energy, Health, Smart Cities, Resources, Buildings, Food, Fashion, Transportation and Information Technology.

Georg Kell, Executive Director, UN Global Compact: “It is very encouraging to see that Sustainia100 solutions show that the geography of sustainability innovation is global. Sustainia is demonstrating that a transformation towards a greener and more inclusive world is possible everywhere.”

Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the UN climate panel, IPCC: “Sustainia100 raises awareness about the man-made effects on our environment by giving us 100 man-made solutions. Hence, the challenge of climate change is addressed through harnessing of technology, innovation and research available to the world. With this solution-based approach, Sustainia100 delivers a clear and comprehensive call for action to a broad audience of politicians and corporations as well as civil society.”

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The Sustainia 100 Guide

available for download here

Further information about Sustainia

Please contact Marie Louise Gorvild, Communications Manager, Sustainia
mlg@mm.dk / +45 3164 1050

Bluerise winner of Climate-KIC business competition

Bluerise participated in the Dutch Climate-KIC Business Competition and won an SME voucher of 35.000 Euro. This voucher connects Bluerise with Climate-KIC partner Deltares in further developing its product portfolio to suit the needs of a rapid growing market for Ocean Thermal Energy.

Making use of the complementary expertise of Deltares, Bluerise wants to accelerate its in-house development of tools to assess promising locations for Ocean Thermal Energy projects worldwide. Visualization of the potential is important as a first step in starting any project. By offering state-of-the-art software tools Bluerise is able to meet the specific needs of each project.
SME vouchers are embedded in the Climate-KIC Entrepreneurship Programme aiming to generate market growth for existing businesses.

Press release

Major steps forward for renewable Ocean Thermal Energy in Curaçao

• Curaçao Airport Holding N.V. and Bluerise B.V. sign MoU for OTEC Power Purchase Agreement
• Bluerise B.V. unveils its OTEC Advanced Research and Demonstration Prototype

Delft, Netherlands, April 10, 2012

As part of the opening ceremony of Bluerise’s OTEC Advanced Research and Demonstration Prototype at the Delft University of Technology, Curaçao Airport Holding N.V. (CAH) and Bluerise B.V. have signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to further strengthen their cooperation in realizing an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant.

Under the projected PPA, Bluerise will sell power to CAH and CAH will make available cold water from its Sea Water Airconditioning (SWAC) system to be used in Bluerise’ OTEC plant.

“We are happy to see that OTEC, being a key element of our envisioned Ecopark, is getting closer to reality”, says Mr. Maurice Adriaens, Managing Director of Curacao Airport Holding, “The progress showed today confirms that together with Bluerise we are on the right track in realizing our plans to use Ocean Energy.”

“This MoU and our prototype reflect the substantial progress we have made as a startup company over the last months”, says Remi Blokker, CEO of Bluerise, “Combined with the synergetic advantages of other deep seawater technologies, as outlined in our Ecopark design, we firmly believe that OTEC will prove to be a very attractive and essential part of future island energy systems, with its baseload and low cost electricity production.”

Simon Kloppenburg, Advisor Airport Development at Curacao Airport Holding says, “CAH is currently working on a concession as an Independent Power Producer. Our aim is to become self-sufficient with a focus on using renewable energy sources. OTEC, with its baseload capacity is an ideal match for us, particularly because it can be coupled with our SWAC system that is currently under development. ”

“With the official commissioning of our OTEC Advanced Research and Demonstration Prototype at Delft University of Technology we have reached a significant milestone”, says Berend Jan Kleute, co-founder and CTO of Bluerise, “The technical team has done a tremendous job and we look forward to the next step, scaling up for our Curaçao plant. By using a non-azeotropic working fluid, our plant has a much improved efficiency and hence lower cost of produced power compared to standard ORC-based OTEC systems”

About Curaçao Airport Holding N.V.

Curaçao Airport Holding, as owner of the airport premises, is officially responsible for overseeing the Curaçao airport operator (CAP) and its adherence to the standards and agreements set forth in the agreement signed with the government of Curaçao. Curaçao Airport Holding is also responsible for the Development of the Airport City; this concerns a total of 450 ha of land adjacent to the airport which has the potential to become a sophisticated service hub predominantly for the (growing) Northern Latin-American market. Curaçao Airport Holding sees Curaçao International Airport as a ‘Hub’, connecting the Americas, transforming from an airstrip into an Airport City; a dynamic environment attracting aviation and non-aviation linked businesses of all types, stimulating and facilitating the increase of passengers and cargo traffic and creating a powerful engine for the necessary economic development of Curaçao.

About Bluerise B.V.

Bluerise is a technology provider in the emerging Ocean Thermal Energy market. Ocean Thermal Energy, with its low-cost, baseload generation capabilities, its huge potential and the possibility to generate electricity, cooling, drinking water and fuels, is on its way to become one of the leading renewable energy sources. Bluerise is closely affiliated with the Delft University of Technology and is member of the European Ocean Energy Association (EU-OEA) and the Dutch Energy from Water Association (EWA).

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Bluerise has been selected for the Kairos 50

Bluerise has been selected to the prestigious Kairos 50, the community of the 50 most innovative ventures coming out of universities around the world. Kairos 50 companies are chosen on their ability to make a lasting impact by solving a global problem.

You can read more on the Kairos society and the Kairos 50 on their website.

Bluerise participates in global ORC conference

Bluerise participated in the First International Seminar on ORC Power Systems (ORC2011) taking place in Delft on the 22nd and 23rd of Sep. 2011.  Bluerise team members presented their expertise on 2 separate topics, one of them being their advanced OTEC cycle.

TU Delft team wins 2011 Design Challenge with Curacao Ecopark

A team of four TU Delft master students has won the prestigious 2011 Design Challenge with their design of an Ocean Energy Ecopark for Curaçao Airport. The team was assigned their project by Bluerise and Curacao Airport Holding and has studied the possible benefits the re-use of cold water from a seawater air-conditioning, or SWAC, system could bring. Their comprehensive report covers analyses of a large of number of technologies, including agriculture, aquaculture, algae cultivation and electricity production.

The resulting Ecopark design clusters these technologies and provides opportunity for research, educational and commercial use. The available abundant resources of Curaçao make it a very
suitable location for the Ecopark. Their winning design will be presented at the University of the Netherlands Antilles on Thursday July 7 2011 at 3:30pm.

“We are very happy the team has won.” said Mr. Maurice Adriaens, Managing Director of Curacao Airport Holding. “The conclusions and recommendations in their report confirm our expectations that an ecopark that uses the effluent cold water of a SWAC system can bring a lot of value to the airport and to the island as a whole. The team’s realistic and viable design of the Ecopark could allow local and international tenants, both in the R&D and commercial stages of their business, to use the cold water resource to grow their business. The airport sees many opportunities to involve the academic world, as we think an ecopark would bring a unique proposition for research and education on green technologies. We believe this can be very beneficial to UNA’s K-zone.”

“We are extremely proud our team has won the Design Challenge.” said Mr. Remi Blokker, CEO of Bluerise, a technology provider of Ocean Thermal Energy Systems. “The result of their six months of hard work is a balanced report where a thorough analysis of both technical and economical aspects is made. The report shows the synergetic benefits the various technologies would bring. We believe the concept of an Ocean Energy Ecopark could be a valuable contribution to the envisioned Airport City the Curacao Airport is currently working on. For future tenants, like ourselves, it would create a unique business opportunity, being one of the very few locations world-wide with this mix of renewable resources available.” “Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, or OTEC, can significantly contribute to a sustainable energy supply, by exploiting the vast renewable energy potential, the cold water, in our oceans.” Said Mr. Ad van Wijk, Professor of Future Energy Systems, Faculty of Applied Sciences, TU Delft. “This project is innovative and contributes significantly to the technology development of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Technology.”.

Click here for our press release.

Curaçao Airport embracing renewable Energy from the Ocean

Curaçao Airport Holding N.V. (CAH) and Bluerise have started a collaboration to provide the Airport premises with renewable energy from the Ocean. Seawater Air-conditioning (SWAC), Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) are candidate technologies to be implemented. Also, the creation of a renewable energy Ecopark is considered with support from the scientific community.

“With our location right next to the Ocean, we are perfectly suited for Ocean Energy” said Mr. Maurice Adriaens, Managing Director of CAH. “The most obvious form is to use the deep water to cool all the facilities on our premises. Also electricity and drinking water can be generated for the Airport users. These types of sustainable activities are fully in-line with our plans to further develop the Airport into an Airport City. An Ecopark focused on renewable Ocean Energy with educational facilities would be a very welcome addition. We believe a partner with the indepth knowledge that Bluerise has, is required to make this a success.”

“We are impressed by Curaçao Airport Holding’s vision towards the implementation of renewable energy sources.” said Mr. Remi Blokker, CEO of Bluerise “We look forward to working with domestic and international industry, financial and scientific partners to realize this vision. Embracing the benefits of Ocean Thermal Energy will not only help CAH significantly reducing its energy costs and carbon footprint, but also allows CAH to offer an even more
complete and attractive portfolio to its users.”

“We very much welcome the initiave CAH is undertaking.” said Mr. Miguel Goede, Rector Magnificus of the University of the Netherlands Antilles. “Being able to establish a research facility will allow us to offer our students, both from Curaçao and international, a great opportunity to work in the emerging field of renewable Ocean Energy for which our island is perfectly situated. We also look forward to work together with other universities, since this
Ecopark would offer them a unique chance to broaden their research capabilities.” The initial phase of the project, which is now well underway, will be completed within a few weeks.

Click here for our press release