RotoDynamic Technology pilot plant

Since December 2022 we have run RDH and RDR at our MW-scale pilot plant at Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, the Netherlands, in the heart of the European petrochemical industry. More than 5,000 operating hours later, the results are the basis of our commercial product: Coolbrook’s first commercial RotoDynamic Heater™ is in delivery.

The pilot continues to support development of the next-generation RDH and the first commercial RDR.

The pilot at a glance

2022

In operation since December

5,000+

Operating hours with RDH and RDR

1,000 °C

exceeded with RDH at MW scale

~10 gases

heated up with RDH and cracked with RDR

Scale pilot unit

Geleen

Brightlands Chemelot campus, NL

RDH at the pilot

RotoDynamic Heater™ (RDH) is designed for outlet temperatures up to 1,700 °C. At the pilot it has been demonstrated above 1,000 °C at MW scale, heating the gases used in industrial processes – the basis for the first commercial unit.

People looking at the electrification technology pilot

What the RDH pilot has shown

First test phase completed in September 2023, demonstrating RDH as a reliable source of industrial process heat
Gases heated above 1,000 °C, including air, nitrogen, steam, CO₂ and methane; test results matched the CFD simulations; natural gas heated to 1,000 °C in February 2025
Modelling and design parameters validated for industrial process heating
Results support the design pathway to 1,700 °C

Read the 2023 release

Read the 2025 release

RDR at the pilot

RotoDynamic Reactor™ (RDR) electrifies steam cracking, the most energy-intensive step in olefin production. Powered by renewable electricity it produces no fuel-combustion CO₂, and its short residence time at high temperature is designed to deliver 10+% higher ethylene and propylene yield.

What the RDR pilot has shown

First cracking tests: RDR cracked hexane and then naphtha – the first demonstration of electric steam cracking with RDR (naphtha announced December 2023)
Heat density: enough to crack hydrocarbons within tens of milliseconds
Yield: higher ethylene and propylene yields through shorter residence times
Operability: a successful online decoking procedure, allowing continuous operation of the reactor
Development: improved aerodynamics and a new reactor geometry implemented in 2024–2025
Circular feedstock: the first electric technology globally to crack 100% plastic-waste pyrolysis oil, with no notable increase in coking
Readiness: sufficient maturity to start design and development of industrial-scale RDR units

Read the naphtha release

Read the pyrolysis oil release

The site

At Brightlands Chemelot Campus

The pilot unit spans several buildings on Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Geleen, one of Europe’s largest chemical sites. The campus gives us access to industrial infrastructure and to more than 3,300 experts in engineering, modelling, operations and maintenance – the right place to test and develop RotoDynamic Technology with our partners.

Learn more about Brightlands