an interview with Marco Hurrle;
MPD ONSITE ENERGY Technical Manager
New technologies, new solutions and a constant drive to improve the energy sector is MPD Onsite Energy’s Mission. Keen to leverage its expertise to register fast progress in this area, MPD Onsite Energy has been evolving since inception.
For MPD Onsite Energy, it is not about keeping up with new technologies but rather spearheading the introduction of state-of-the-art solutions. This is what Marco Hurrle, MPD Onsite Energy Manager was keen to emphasise in his interview with Design & Build.
M arco Hurrle is thirty-one years old. Hailing from Germany, he has made Malta his permanent home. Whilst studying mechatronics for three years, his apprenticeship period with MTU in Germany saw him gain experiences as a field service engineer in marine, power servicing and nuclear power plants – servicing critical clients such as data centres and hospitals within a very narrow and specialised field of engineering.
Melita Power Diesel Ltd is the exclusive distributor of MTU Rolls Royce for Malta, Greece, Cyprus and Libya; one of the largest engine manufacturers in the world.
To put the company’s origins in perspective, Malta Marine Repairs was established in 1969 to set up an in-water facility for yachts around Malta. Eventually, Melita Marine Group acquired the company in 1998 and it became known as we know it today – Melita Power Diesel, which is the official distributor of Rolls Royce power systems, MTU and Detroit Diesel in Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Libya. MPD has become a one-stop-shop for its clients.
From the beginning, MPD was always about providing onsite energy solutions. Its portfolio includes gas and diesel generator sets, industrial equipment such as light towers & dust blowers and complete energy systems. With their partner Rolls Royce and MTU solutions, MPD supplies state of the art battery storage & UPS systems, hybrid solutions and complete decentralised energy plants or Microgrids, incorporating renewable energies from various sources.
MPD’s expertise and access to the right platforms makes them the perfect game changers
The energy business is a fast-changing and complex one, which requires one’s full attention. Marco explains that this is why in 2018, Melita Marine’s Group CEO Pierre Balzan decided that it was time to include Green Energy and hybrid energy solutions within the Group’s portfolio of products and service provisions. Pierre Balzan’s commitment to “doing things right” synergised perfectly with Marco’s hands-on experience as a mechatronic engineer, coupled with his academic background and direction; thus ensuring Marco to be the right candidate to develop this branch within the Group.
The Energy Landscape
With the enhancements to battery technology, businesses can now take advantage of this increasingly important solution. So, how has MPD evolved and adapted to this?
Energy storage has become a key aspect to integrate renewable energies to existing energy solutions so the energy can be fed-in when needed. Malta’s renewable energy share is one of the lowest in the EU. MPD’s expertise and access to the right platforms makes them the perfect game changers.
MPD is geared to handle a complete system via one single point of contact. Its products are tailored to work together, seamlessly. Moreover, the company is able to recreate various setup scenarios from virtual environments – the data from these virtual environments is analysed and the right configuration is developed. Once installed, the health and performance of the implemented system can be monitored by means of a user- friendly mobile phone application. This infrastructure is not limited to new installations; MPD also offers full integration in existing setups.
MPD’s ex MPD provides its customers with an unparalleled efficiency level of power generation by marrying the best diesel engines with Green Energy via intelligent IT-based control units
Marco Hurrle
MPD’s battery storage solutions cover residential and small businesses, all the way to large battery storage systems for large industries or power plants fully scalable up to multiple 100s of Megawatts. MPD can support large national grids. It provides hefty savings and reduces – or even eliminates – grid dependency and stress, by implementing an intelligent combination of traditional motor power with green energy power generation; utilising intelligent IT-based control units to automate the switching of supply between grid, motor and green energy so as to maximise on efficiency, economy, environment.
MPD combines traditional motor power with green energy; utilising intelligent IT-based control units to automate the switching of supply between grid, motor and green energy so as to maximise on efficiency, economy, environment; thus support large national grids.
This reduces or even eliminates grid dependency, while providing hefty tax advantages and consumption savings.
The Microgrid Solution
Marco continues to explain that MPDs’ microgrid solutions are able to assist the national grid infrastructure, agriculture, hospitality and manufacturing companies to improve their renewable energy share and to maximise energy savings. Such assistance involves the selling of extra energy generated to the national grid as well as the storage and retention of generated energy for future use.
Currently, MPD is working on a pilot project, which involves the use of Biogas: the mixture of gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter, produced from raw materials such as agricultural, green and food waste, manure and sewage.
These systems are already in an advanced stage of implementation and will include natural gas or biogas powered generator sets, battery storage, solar systems and an intelligent controller.
Of course, microgrids are not just limited to agricultural setups but can also be used by industries operating critical applications such as hospitals, banks, data centres.
Servers and other mission-critical tend to react to power outages before generator sets kick in to circumvent their ill-effects and reintegrate stability into the power provision.
we have seen Biogas- based microgrid solutions successfully implemented in Europe for farmers, and it ought to be considered for local use too
Marco Hurrle
Normally, generator sets kick in within 10 to 15 seconds when a power cut occurs. MPD’s latest product, the Kinetic UPS has closed the gap. The Kinetic UPS has a larger engine alternator, which has a constant moving part, meaning that when power goes off, this rotating part will supply electricity until the generator is ready to kick in, providing a seamless switch over.
Due to the nature of its size, Malta’s grid is available everywhere, so one might question the need for the use of micro-
grids. Marco’s complete belief in the effectiveness of an off-line microgrid even within highly developed areas stems from MPD’s experience in executing such installations.
Shared microgrids are another highly viable solution for neighbouring enterprises; different sources of energy – wind, solar, batter, generators – would be reared in together; controlled by an intelligent control unit; which would simultaneously decide on which best power source to utilise at the given time, and how to allot the produced power to the various units running it collectively.
By connecting to the main grid, the owners of the shared microgrid would both benefit from the security of using the government grids as a backup plan (rather than vice-versa) whilst when over-producing, surplus would either be stored or sold to the main grid; again a choice automatedly processed by the control unit according to the installer’s settings, which in turn are based on the MPD engineer’s technical findings which would have subsequently been approved by the power grid buyer/s. In such cases the engineer is more often than not Marco Hurrle himself.
This solution is being particularly looked at by industrial estates where factories can join forces to create their own grid.
If electricity prices fluctuate, this can be managed by our automated system which is programmable to make the best use of the right supply at the right time
Marco Hurrle
Going Forward
A large part of the world is trying to move towards a carbon free environment. MPD’s mid and long-term plans are to assist local entities and industries in reaching their expected targets of achieving sustainability and becoming more environmentally friendly.
MPD’s natural gas or biogas powered engines (128 – 2,535 kWe) are scalable, reaching a total efficiency of up to 93% and can integrate into microgrid systems.
Moreover, CHP (Combined Heat & Power) makes the excess heat from exhaust and coolant usable for the customer.
MPD’s Onsite Energy division is placing considerable effort onto the local markets, which provides considerable potential for more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy systems. However, they are also operating outside of our local markets already and their goal is an international reach.
Microgrids and decentralised energy systems will play a big role for MPD and for the future of energy production and distribution. With the right balance between capital and operational expenditure, MPD will find the best financial fit for any country, entity or company who wants to invest in a microgrid system, leading the way to a low carbon future whilst maximising its financial and energy savings.
These are very exciting times… there is constant change; with new ideas and developments happening on a regular basis
Marco Hurrle
While the future is bound to present to the world power generation options which are entirely carbon free,
we’re not quite there yet. MPD Onsite Energy feeds into the immeasurable resource of its MTU Rolls Royce partnership, and couples this with the best mechatronic disciplines – all nestled under the wings of the accomplished Melita Marine Group; thus harvesting its resources for the provision of unbeatable power generation for Malta and beyond.
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