Techouse completes testing of a lighter offshore steam generator

Techouse has finished testing a compact once-through steam generator (COTSG) designed to cut fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions from power and heat production on offshore oil and gas platforms. The joint industry project behind the generator includes TotalEnergies and Equinor, along with the research institute SINTEF Energy Research.

The project received innovation funding from the Norwegian Research Council in 2024 and built the lightweight generator for testing at Sustainable Energy's test center for new and green energy carriers in Stord, Norway.

Research cited by the project found that gas turbine combined-cycle systems on floating and fixed offshore installations cut carbon dioxide emissions 22 to 25 percent compared with conventional gas turbine systems. A 25 percent cut equals between 50,000 and 150,000 tons of avoided emissions a year for each combined-cycle power plant.

How the generator works

A combined-cycle system uses heat from gas turbine exhaust to make superheated steam, which then drives a steam turbine to produce more power. Current once-through steam generators are heavy and bulky, which strains the limited deck space and weight capacity on offshore platforms. The project set out to build a version light and small enough to fit more installations.

Pål Kloster, chief technology officer at Techouse, said the project had already made the generator "lighter and smaller" than current solutions. The recent testing checked its "robustness" to confirm its commercial potential.

Over the past few months, engineers tested the full-scale generator for performance, vibration and fatigue, including thermal fatigue, under cyclic loading, to see if it can meet its designed 30-year lifecycle. Kloster said the test delivered "positive results against the key test parameters," and the team is now analyzing the recorded test data. Techouse plans to launch the COTSG as a commercial product in the latter part of 2026.

Techouse said the infrastructure it is building could also be used for carbon capture applications on an offshore platform. The company designs, engineers and manufactures heat recovery solutions for offshore use and water treatment packages, and is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway, with additional offices in Norway, China, Scotland and Vietnam.

We reported that Equinor and partners committed NOK 4 billion to a new Troll subsea tie-in.