ORCAN ENERGY AG

Their core work

ORCAN ENERGY AG is a Munich-based SME that develops and commercializes Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems — compact thermodynamic machines that convert low-grade waste heat or solar thermal energy into usable electricity. Their core product is the ORC unit itself, which they bring as hardware and engineering expertise into research consortia working on energy efficiency challenges. In POLYPHEM they demonstrated ORC integration with small-scale solar thermal combined cycles using gas turbines; in ENGIMMONIA they are applying ORC technology to maritime waste heat recovery on ammonia-fueled ships. Their distinctive value is translating ORC from lab concept to testable, on-board hardware.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (POLYPHEM, 2018), ORCAN's focus was on stationary, land-based solar thermal power — concentrated solar power, solar tower systems, gas turbines, and ORC in a combined cycle for distributed electricity generation. By their second project (ENGIMMONIA, 2021), the application domain had shifted entirely to maritime transport: ammonia engines, shipboard waste heat recovery, adsorption chillers, PV integration, and safety of alternative fuels. The ORC technology itself is the constant thread, but the deployment context evolved from fixed solar installations to moving vessels with complex polygeneration demands. This suggests ORCAN is deliberately expanding its ORC product into new mobile and marine markets rather than deepening a single vertical.

ORCAN is moving its ORC technology from stationary solar applications into mobile maritime platforms, positioning itself at the intersection of shipping decarbonisation and waste heat electrification — a sector under intense regulatory and commercial pressure through 2030.

How they like to work

ORCAN has participated exclusively as a consortium partner, never as project coordinator, across both its H2020 projects. With 33 unique partners across 9 countries from just two projects, they consistently join large, multi-partner RIA consortia rather than small bilateral collaborations. This pattern suggests they are a technology provider sought out for their ORC hardware and engineering capability, comfortable operating as a specialist contributor within complex research teams without needing to lead them.

ORCAN has built a network of 33 unique consortium partners across 9 countries through only two projects — an unusually broad reach for such a small portfolio, reflecting the large consortium structure typical of RIA grants. Their geographic spread across 9 countries suggests European-wide research engagement despite being a small company.

What sets them apart

ORCAN is one of very few European SMEs that brings a commercial ORC product — not just academic models — into EU research projects, giving consortia access to real hardware for testing and demonstration. Their ability to deploy ORC units in both solar thermal and maritime contexts makes them unusually versatile for an SME, bridging the stationary renewables and transport decarbonisation sectors. For a consortium that needs ORC technology validated at system level rather than simulated, ORCAN offers something most university partners cannot: an actual product to integrate and test.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENGIMMONIA
  The largest project by funding (€1,243,500) and the most complex technically — integrating ammonia engines, ORC, adsorption chillers, and PV on a single ship platform — it positions ORCAN at the frontier of maritime decarbonisation, one of the most commercially active sectors in EU climate policy.
• POLYPHEM
  Demonstrates ORCAN's capability in concentrated solar power combined cycles, a niche that connects their ORC expertise to the utility-scale renewables sector and shows their technology is not limited to waste heat applications.