Development and construction of reverse-flow power plants that generate electricity, heat, Green Gas and Green Carbon from forest residual wood
SYNCRAFT GmbH
Schwaz, AustriaNew on Amplifa
About SYNCRAFT
SYNCRAFT is an Austrian GreenTech company headquartered in Schwaz, Tyrol, founded in 2009 as a spin-off of the MCI Innsbruck University of Applied Sciences. The company develops and manufactures reverse-flow power plants based on patented entrained fixed-bed gasification, which generate electricity, heat, Green Gas and EBC-certified Green Carbon (biochar) from regional forest residual wood in the form of wood chips. The plants achieve an electrical efficiency of 30 % and a fuel utilization rate of 92 %; the patented flue gas condensation technology delivers around 20 % additional heat for wood chip drying. Plant types are Type 400 (CW1200-400), Type 500 (CW1800-500), Type 1000 (CW1800x2-1000) and Type GG C (CW1800-GG) with electrical outputs of 500 to 1.000 kW per module. The plant technology covers automation, PLC programming, process control engineering, control cabinet construction and engine service. More than 40 plants are in operation worldwide, including in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia and Japan.
- Site
- Schwaz
- Processes
- Development and construction of reverse-flow power plants (wood gasification plant for generating, Entrained fixed-bed gasification of solid biomass (patented SYNCRAFT technology), Flue gas condensation technology (patented, approx. 20 % additional heat for wood chip drying), Hybrid Pyrolysis / staged gasification system for producing premium charcoal, PLC programming (various manufacturers, preferably Siemens), Visualization via PC and operator devices (WinCC, zenon), Development of customer-specific PC applications (C#, .NET, SQL databases), Process control system and process visualization (SCADA)
- Materials
- Forest residual wood (wood chips), Forest wood chips, Energy wood, Green Carbon / biochar (EBC Premium, carbon content approx. 90 %, heating value approx. 29 MJ/kg), Forest wood chips / forest residual wood, Green Carbon / biochar (EBC Premium)
- Certificates
- EBC Premium (Green Carbon, at EnergieWerk Ilg since 2018)
- Founded
- 2009
- Industries
- Energy supply / district heating, Industry and commerce, Food sector (breweries), Hospitality, Biogas / biomethane, Wood industry (automation)
- 01
Techno-economic evaluation & project support
- 02
Engineering & plant development
- 03
Automation & electrical engineering (PLC, SCADA, control cabinet construction)
- 04
Plant construction (gasification technology)
- 05
Commissioning
- 06
Engine service, maintenance & repair
Fuels, Processes & Products
Forest wood chips / forest residual wood
Regional fuel from sustainable forestry, the main fuel of the reverse-flow power plants.
Energy wood
Renewable raw material for energy generation, e.g. in use at the ArcoBräu brewery.
Green Carbon / biochar (EBC Premium)
Product with approx. 90 % carbon content and approx. 29 MJ/kg heating value; basis for Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR) and CO2 certificates.
Locations
Schwaz
ATHeadquarters, engineering, plant construction, automation
- Lot size
- Individual plants per project
- Materials
- Forest wood chips, energy wood
- Entrained fixed-bed gasifier
- PLC programming (Siemens)
- SCADA (WinCC, zenon)
- CAE electrical engineering design
- Control cabinet construction
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development and construction of reverse-flow power plants (wood gasification plant for generatingEngineering | – | – | – | – | Forest residual wood / forest wood chips, Energy wood |
| Entrained fixed-bed gasification of solid biomass (patented SYNCRAFT technology)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Forest wood chips, Forest residual wood |
| Flue gas condensation technology (patented, approx. 20 % additional heat for wood chip drying)Engineering | – | – | – | – | Wood chips |
| Hybrid Pyrolysis / staged gasification system for producing premium charcoalEngineering | – | – | – | – | Wood, Forest residual wood |
| PLC programming (various manufacturers, preferably Siemens)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Visualization via PC and operator devices (WinCC, zenon)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Development of customer-specific PC applications (C#, .NET, SQL databases)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Process control system and process visualization (SCADA)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Project planning and setup of IT infrastructure (servers, networking, backup)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Electrical engineering design on CAE systemsEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Control cabinet construction and component selectionAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Commissioning of servo and frequency inverters (drive technology)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Maintenance, servicing and repair of wood gas engines (engine service)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
14 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reverse-flow power plant Type 400 (CW1200-400) | SYNCRAFT CW1200-400 | – | – | – | Schwaz, Austria |
| Reverse-flow power plant Type 500 (CW1800-500) | SYNCRAFT CW1800-500 | – | Electrical output 500 kW, thermal output (90 °C) 740 kW, fuel heat output 1.808 kW, | – | Schwaz, Austria |
| Reverse-flow power plant Type 1000 (CW1800x2-1000) | SYNCRAFT CW1800x2-1000 | – | Electrical output 1.000 kW, thermal output (90 °C) 1.404 kW, fuel heat output 3.527 | – | Schwaz, Austria |
| Reverse-flow power plant Type GG C / Slim-Fit (CW1800-GG) | SYNCRAFT CW1800-GG | – | Gas output 1.260 kW, fuel heat output 1.800 kW, thermal output (100 °C) 200 kW, | – | Schwaz, Austria |
| Reverse-flow power plant CW1800-500 (reference Gänserndorf) | SYNCRAFT CW1800-500 | 1 | 500 kW electrical, 750 kW heat | 2024 | Gänserndorf, AT |
| Reverse-flow power plant CW1800x2-1000 (reference Frauenfeld) | SYNCRAFT CW1800x2-1000 | 4 | electrical output 4.000 kW, 12.000 t CO₂ removal per year | 2020/2021 | Frauenfeld, CH |
| Reverse-flow power plant 2xCW1800-500 (reference Perg) | SYNCRAFT CW1800-500 | 2 | 1.000 kW electrical, 1.540 kW thermal | 2023 | Perg, AT |
| Reverse-flow power plant 4xCW1800-400 (reference Shingu) | SYNCRAFT CW1800-400 | 4 | 1.600 kW electrical output | 2019 | Shingu, Japan |
| Reverse-flow power plant CW1800x2-1000 (reference Heilbronn) | SYNCRAFT CW1800x2-1000 | 1 | – | 2023 | Heilbronn, DE |
| Reverse-flow power plant CW1800x2-1000 (reference Wahlstedt) | SYNCRAFT CW1800x2-1000 | 1 | – | 2024 | Wahlstedt, DE |
| Reverse-flow power plant CW1800-500 (reference Waiern) | SYNCRAFT CW1800-500 | 1 | – | – | Waiern, AT |
| Reverse-flow power plant CW1800x2-1000 (reference ArcoBräu) | SYNCRAFT CW1800x2-1000 | 1 | 1.000 kW electrical, 1.380 kW thermal, 800 t/a Green Carbon | 2024 | Moos, DE (Arco Clean Energy) |
| Prototype power plant (PowerBox, entrained fixed-bed technology) | SYNCRAFT | 1 | – | 2009 | Schwaz, AT |
| First commercial wood power plant (South Tyrol) | SYNCRAFT | 1 | approx. 259 kW electrical output, approx. 400.000 kWh of electricity and heat per month | 2014 | South Tyrol, IT |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Standards
The plants are developed and built to strict industrial European standards; the produced Green Carbon achieves EBC Premium quality via a staged gasification system (Hybrid Pyrolysis).
| Evidence | Schwaz |
|---|---|
| EBC Premium (Green Carbon, at EnergieWerk Ilg since 2018) |
Milestones
- 2009
Company founded as a spin-off of the MCI Innsbruck University of Applied Sciences; development of the entrained fixed-bed gasifier in the Tyrolean research project PowerBox; first prototype in Schwaz
- 2010
Integration of Osl Elektrotechnik (SYNCRAFT Automation); takeover of control and automation development
- 2014
First commercial SYNCRAFT wood power plant in South Tyrol (approx. 259 kW electrical, approx. 400.000 kWh of electricity and heat per month)
- 2016
Life cycle analysis by Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences shows potential for negative emissions; introduction of Negative Emission Technology (NET) / Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR)
- 2017
Patented flue gas condensation technology; approx. 20 % additional heat, overall efficiency above 90 %
- 2018
World's first biochar in EBC Premium quality from a staged gasification system (EnergieWerk Ilg GmbH)
- 2019
First reverse-flow power plant outside Europe in Shingu, Japan (Type 4xCW1800-400, 1.600 kW electrical)
- 2020
World's largest negative-emission power plant in Frauenfeld, Switzerland (4.000 kW electrical, 12.000 t CO2/year removal)
- 2021
Implementation of the reverse-flow power plant 4xCW1800x2-1000 in Frauenfeld, Switzerland
- 2023
Austria's largest reverse-flow power plant to date in Perg with NAWARO ENERGIE (1.000 kW electrical, 1.540 kW thermal)
- 2023
Commissioning of a reverse-flow power plant at Südwestdeutsche Salzwerke AG in Heilbronn (December 2023)
- 2024
Inauguration of the HanseWerk Natur reverse-flow power plant in Wahlstedt, Schleswig-Holstein (May 2024)
- 2024
Commissioning of a Type 500 reverse-flow power plant in Gänserndorf (500 kW electrical, 750 kW heat)