A DERBYSHIRE engineering firm which developed technology to make coal-fired power stations more efficient has made a key breakthrough in the Chinese market.

Greenbank Group, in Woodville, has had an office in Beijing since 2006 but orders have been hard to come by.

However, the Hartshorne Road company is now celebrating after landing a contract with Datang Guiguan Heshan Power Generation Company, one of the largest power-generation firms in China.

Datang, which is a state-owned company, has power stations in 27 provinces and total assets of £26.8bn.

The deal with Greenbank, the cost of which has not been disclosed, will see the company supply Datang with its G-CAM (Carbon-In-Ash) Monitor for the Heshan Power Station, which is the largest coal-fired station in Guangxi Province.

The G-CAM uses microwave technology to measure the amount of unburnt coal remaining during the power-generation process.

The system produces real-time information about combustion efficiency and performance of the station's coal-fired boilers, allowing the operators to measure, improve and optimise combustion and emission levels.

Greenbank's managing director Charles Conroy said: "This contract marks a significant milestone for Greenbank in the coal-fired power market.

"It demonstrates our global strength and commitment to delivering market-leading cleaner coal technology products.

"Technology that improves boiler efficiency plays a crucial part in making coal a significantly cleaner source of fuel.

"We strongly believe that by continuing to invest in research and development in products such as the G-CAM, we can help coal-fired power stations like Heshan become greener, cleaner, and more efficient."

China is one of the key players at the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen, which is due to end on Friday.

China has set itself a target for limiting greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45% by the year 2020, compared with 2005 levels.

The country's economy is still growing and is mostly fuelled by coal.

Greenbank's G-CAM analysers will be installed and commissioned on two of the Heshan Power Station's boilers early next year.

The company has previously enjoyed export success in other countries. It has secured contracts with power generation firms in the US, South America, India and Europe.

Its customers include Eon, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern, EDF, RWE, Alstom, Doosan Babcock Energy and Corus.

As well as the UK, where it employs around 75 people, the company has sites in the US, Czech Republic and India.

Last year, the company received the Queen's Award in the Innovation through Technology category for its boiler optimisation technology.

It also scooped two awards at the Business Awards Derbyshire last year, winning Business of the Year, while Mr Conroy landed the Entrepreneur of the Year title.