The Yanmar Group is using state-of-the-art trigeneration technology to supply power, heat and cooling to the new Başakşehir Çam Sakura City Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey – one of the largest hospitals in Europe. Yanmar’s advanced solutions will also provide emergency power in the event of grid outages, guaranteeing continuous supply within the world’s largest seismically isolated building.

A monumental project

Without question, Istanbul’s Başakşehir Çam Sakura City Hospital was a colossal undertaking. Proposed by the Turkish Ministry of Health as a public-private partnership (PPP) project, the one-million square-metre facility has the capacity to handle up to 60,000 visitors per day and be home to 9,500 employees, including doctors, nurses, and administrative staff.

With a 2,682-bed capacity, it is Turkey’s third-largest health investment project under a PPP agreement. The hospital itself will provide services to Istanbul and its surrounding areas, and comprises six buildings around a shared core facility, with 87 operating theatres, 328 intensive-care beds, and 2,127 patient rooms.

Careful planning of both the hospital and its environs has ensured that the best healthcare services will be easily accessible. This is expedited through seamless transport links such as the Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge, additional access roads, and a planned subway route. In addition, the hospital is equipped with 2,040 seismic isolators and triple-friction pendulum bearings, allowing it to remain operational even during the most severe earthquakes.

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Handling the technical challenge

Given the technical complexity of powering this ultra-large new facility, and with patients’ lives quite literally on the line, a sophisticated and state-of-the-art energy solution was required. After a tough tender process, Yanmar Turkey Makine AS (YTM) was chosen, owing to its experience in cogeneration and trigeneration applications, its recognised reliability, and ability to work seamlessly under the banner of a Turkish-Japanese partnership.

Working alongside main contractor Rönesans Holding (which has long experience in large-scale construction projects around the world) and other local suppliers, YTM delivered and installed a highly efficient 12MW trigeneration system (which combines the generation and processing capabilities for heat, power and cooling requirements) and 25 industry-leading standby diesel gensets (each with a 2,500kVa capacity).

“Our trigeneration facility offers 12MW electricity capacity, which meets an important part of the hospital’s average electricity requirements, which can reach 40-45MWe during the summer period, 24/7” explains Yanmar Turkey Gas Projects Executive, Fikret Kazanan. “Hot water is recovered at 90°C from the waste heat energy of the gas engines (through jacket water exchangers and exhaust-effect chillers), and 7MW of cooling power is provided by the exhaust-driven absorption chillers.

“For this project, we completed the design studies, and subsequently supplied the gas engines and auxiliary systems. Thanks to our high-efficiency gas generator sets packaged and supplied by Himoinsa [a Yanmar company], carbon emissions are reduced, and energy efficiency is increased. It is also satisfying to know that the hospital project itself is making a significant contribution to the Turkish economy.”

Advanced technology

The system was commissioned in May 2020 but Yanmar’s scope of supply initially began with the design and engineering studies. The total output of its 12MW trigeneration system is 12.180kWe (electricity), 6,929kW (cooling) and 11,540kW (heating). This comprises five Himoinsa gas gensets (4 x 2,538kWe; 1 x 2,028kWe), five absorption chillers (4 x 1,442kW; 1 x 1,161kW) with bypass dampers for the exhaust line, five CTI-certified ‘open type’ cooling towers, and five air ventilation systems.

Yanmar also installed five sound isolation systems, all mechanical and electrical instalments and piping, and the master control panel. Standby power for the hospital is provided by 25 Himoinsa HTW-2295 diesel gensets that are connected to eight (40m³) underground fuel tanks and seismic isolation systems.

As Yanmar Turkey Diesel Projects Executive Bahattin Bakır explains: “Emergency diesel generators are capable of meeting all the electricity needs of the hospital at full load for approximately 40 hours without refuelling.”

Alongside the mechanical installations, Yanmar supplied the fuel automation system (including pumps, equipment and piping), LV circuit breakers on the alternators, and sound isolation cassettes on the roof. All three power sources (mains, trigeneration and back-up) run synchronously, and crucially, there is a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) on site for ‘black out’ cases wherein the trigeneration system is offline, reverting instead to the backup diesel gensets.

Control synchronisation means that the system can alternate between three main operating modes. The first is ‘normal’ in which the trigeneration system actively works with the mains supply. Second is ‘emergency’ – where the diesel generators kick in during any short-term or sudden interruption to the mains power – and the third is ‘disaster’. This can be reverted to during periods of long-term power failure and the diesel generators can power-up the trigeneration system and then both systems can run together.

The most critical point in the contract scope for Yanmar was that the system would be turnkey. However, by completing all the assembly and installation and BOP (‘balance of plant’), rather than only supplying materials, Yanmar delivered tremendous added value. It is also supplying comprehensive after-sales maintenance services (including inspections and spare parts) for all systems for the next five years – an aspect highly valued by the hospital.

Significant energy savings

With its high variable output, the trigeneration system runs synchronised to the grid to satisfy the hospital’s constantly changing requirements for power, heat, and cooling, and in doing so, increases the hospital’s energy efficiency, while lowering its energy costs. The Yanmar trigeneration system reaches its maximum efficiency at full capacity and the electricity unit costs generated by the trigen plant are approximately 30% lower compared to the price from the grid. Furthermore, it can also serve as a backup measure in case of a mains power outage, a vital consideration when considering the volume of patients potentially being cared for inside the hospital.

Further energy savings are also made by utilising the existing waste heat produced during electricity generation to heat water and also provide central heating. The overall efficiency of the system can reach 90% – depending on (seasonal) consumption – thanks to the heat recovery of the waste energy occurring during the 12MW electrical generation. This method can also produce cooling for the hospital’s air conditioning systems.

Yanmar’s trigeneration system is an energy-efficient method of power creation and will also help to reduce the environmental impact of the hospital. Thanks to the system design and the high efficiency of the gas generators, significant savings can be achieved in terms of energy costs, with emission reductions facilitated via the catalytic converters in the generator exhaust line. Additional gas gensets can be added to the system to increase capacity and savings even further, if needed.

Compared with mains grid power production, the hospital will be able to reduce its CO2 emissions by approximately 60% and the hospital can make annual savings of € 1.8m. The trigeneration system is also completely reliable, making it ideal for a location such as Istanbul that is prone to extreme events such as earthquakes.

“The total emergency generator capacity is 62,500kVA, powered at 34,500V, and the diesel generators will activate if there is any interruption to the mains grid,” says Rönesans Holding, Başakşehir Çam Ve Sakura City Hospital Deputy Operations Manager, Yusuf Cebi. “The 25 generators operate synchronously and can make soft transitions forwards and backwards to the mains grid as required.

“The result of this project is a bespoke system offering a 24/7 efficient, risk-free operation, and the scope of the Rönesans facility management is under the guarantee of Yanmar. We feel safe working with Yanmar, because it is such an experienced global company. Alongside the cutting-edge technology, we are grateful to Yanmar for its rapid manufacturing and collaborative approach, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A trusted partner

Now concluded, Yanmar Turkey Energy Systems Business Unit Manager, Efecan Ülkü, offers his reflections on a successful project: “Our work was carried out under difficult conditions during the pandemic, but due to its important role in maintaining people’s wellbeing at such a time, it was critical that the hospital could commence operations as planned.

“I must compliment our teams and suppliers for making this project a success through their expertise and dedication. This allowed us to complete all commissioning works to schedule, even though travel restrictions were intense. We are honoured to be the energy systems supplier to Başakşehir Çam Sakura City Hospital – one of Turkey’s most important healthcare centres. This important investment in technology will be beneficial to both our customer and the country as a whole.”

Through Yanmar’s ability to deliver reliable and advanced technology tailored to the customer’s specific needs, there is evident satisfaction on the part of Başakşehir Çam Sakura City Hospital¬. Ozan Güzel, Hospital Project Director, says: “Many companies took part in this project, and there was a tremendous level of Japanese and Turkish cooperation – in particular, Yanmar stands out as being among the most important suppliers.

“We worked with them on two different systems and they kept to the delivery schedule despite the difficult conditions. This incredible project was completed in a challenging period of only 30 months, after which, Yanmar continues to offer a high level of support. All things considered, we hope to work again with Yanmar on any future project.”