Review: NEFI Technology Talk ´Steam generation with heat pumps in industry´

At the NEFI Technology Talk ´Steam generation with heat pumps in industry´ on 31 May 2023, experts gave insights into the use of heat pumps in industrial processes in six presentations. Thomas Nowak, Secretary General of the European Heat Pump Association, moderated the online talk with over 90 participants.

In her keynote speech, Veronika Wilk, Senior Research Engineer at the AIT Center for Energy, gave an overview of current research issues and an insight into the current NEFI research project AHEAD, where a steam-generating heat pump is being integrated in industrial operations for the first time. The innovative heat pump system consists of a steam-generating heat pump from SPH Sustainable Process Heat GmbH, which is combined with steam compressors and generates steam at 11 bar(a)/184°C.

The presentations by Tim Hamacher (SPH Sustainable Process Heat), Jochen Schäfer (Siemens Energy), Gregor Schumm (Piller Blowers & Compressors), Rasmus Rubyz, Atlas Copco and Axel Huber, (Strabag) and Stefano Vittor (Olvondo Technology) gave the participants a good technical insight into steam-generating heat pumps and steam compressors.

The discussion confirmed that heat pumps play and will play an essential role in the decarbonisation of industrial processes. In this context, steam-generating heat pumps that produce steam from waste heat are of particular interest because they can be well integrated into existing infrastructure. What is also clear, however, is that heat pumps will not be the one solution for all system conversion issues. This will greatly increase the economic potential of heat pumps and thus support their diffusion in industry. Because there they are a key technology for using waste heat, increasing efficiency and significantly avoiding CO₂ emissions.