Our largest bull gear for the BECCS Stockholm project

We manufactured our largest bull gear to date for equipment linked to Stockholm Exergi’s BECCS project in Sweden. The project brings together large-scale industrial infrastructure, carbon capture and permanent CO₂ storage. For IGW, the connection lies in gear manufacturing. Manufacturing a bull gear of this scale requires careful preparation across the full production route, from handling and fixturing to machining and dimensional verification.

What is BECCS Stockholm?

BECCS stands for BioEnergy with Carbon Capture and Storage and it’s project at Stockholm Exergi’s biomass-fired combined heat and power plant in Stockholm. The existing plant uses forestry and sawmill residues to produce electricity and district heating.

The new installation is designed to capture biogenic CO₂ from the flue gases before it reaches the atmosphere. After capture, the CO₂ will be compressed and liquefied, temporarily stored in Stockholm and transported by specialised vessels for permanent geological storage beneath the North Sea.

At full scale, the facility is designed to capture and permanently store up to 800,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. Full-scale operations are planned for 2028.

A bull gear at a new scale for IGW

The bull gear manufactured for equipment associated with the project is the largest IGW has produced so far.

A component of 2.232 mm in diameter affects much more than the cutting operation itself. Before production starts, teams need to consider how the gear will move through the factory, how it will be lifted and positioned, which machines and fixtures are required and how the finished geometry will be measured.

This makes preparation an important part of large gear manufacturing. The complete production route has to work around the dimensions and weight of the component.

Gear manufacturing starts before machining

The largest bull gear places different demands on the manufacturing process than smaller components. Machine access, crane movements, clamping, available floor space and the orientation of the part between operations all have to be considered in advance.

Material behaviour and temperature also become increasingly relevant as dimensions grow. Small dimensional variations can have a greater effect across a large diameter, which makes stable process conditions and controlled measurement essential.

For that reason, precision is not something that is only checked at the end. Critical characteristics are monitored throughout production, while final inspection confirms that the completed gear meets its required specification.

From the IGW shopfloor to a larger industrial system

The bull gear is one component within a much broader infrastructure project. BECCS Stockholm combines energy production, CO₂ capture, liquefaction, marine transport and permanent geological storage in one industrial chain.

That context makes the project particularly interesting for our teams. The work at IGW focuses on manufacturing the gear correctly, but the final component becomes part of equipment operating within a much larger system. It is a clear example of how specialised gear manufacturing can support major industrial projects far beyond the factory where the component itself is produced.

Large gear manufacturing at IGW

IGW manufactures precision gears for demanding industrial applications, including large gears where machining, handling and dimensional control must work together throughout the production route.

Do you have a project involving a large or complex gear component? Contact our team via sales@igwpower.com or learn more about IGW’s gear manufacturing capabilities.