The efficiency of current high temperature Organic Rankine Cycles does not exceed 24%. Typical steam Rankine cycles show a thermal efficiency higher than 30%, but with a more complex cycle design (in terms of number of components or size).

The Rankine cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle of a heat engine that converts heat into mechanical work while undergoing phase change. The thermal efficiency equals 1 minus the ratio of the low-to-high pressures to the power of 1 minus the reciprocal of the heat capacity ratio.

Real Rankine cycle (non-ideal) In particular, the efficiency of the steam turbine will be limited by water-droplet formation. As the water condenses, water droplets hit the turbine blades at high speed, causing pitting and erosion, gradually decreasing the life of turbine blades and efficiency of the turbine.

Compared to fossil fuel burners, it produces significant environmental and economic benefits given the high Coefficient of Performance (COP), between 3 and 4.