Today, district heating already plays a major role in supplying comfort heating and hot water to households, universities, and hospitals across the world:
Across all regions, there are targets to increase the amount of energy distributed through district heating systems by 100–200% over the coming decades.
District heating has traditionally been used to distribute harnessed waste heat from electricity production, improving efficiency from around 40% to 80%. But why stop there, when heat pumps can deliver efficiencies of 300–800%?
Heat is distributed through insulated pipes to meet residential and commercial needs and can be sourced from boilers, geothermal energy, cogeneration, biomass, or waste incineration.
As many cities shift to low-carbon solutions, heat pumps are becoming a cornerstone technology on this journey. Used alone or in combination with other low-carbon heating technologies, heat pumps enhance efficiency and reduce carbon emissions — delivering sustainable heat with maximum performance.
A GEA heat pump upgrades readily available heat source — i.e. air, water, geothermal, and waste heat—into valuable energy. Using a natural refrigerant, it efficiently reaches temperatures up to 90°C for district heating, hot water, process heating, or steam. The cycle repeats seamlessly, cutting energy costs and boosting efficiency.
Yep — that’s right. For AS Utilitas Tallinn, GEA delivered a substantial boost in energy efficiency — up to an astounding 400%.
No less than 24 megawatts are supplied by GEA’s heat pumps. And because their low electricity consumption is powered by renewable energy, the solution leaves a carbon footprint of zero — saving 20,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.
In many district heating networks today, heat is obtained from various sources, including heat-only boiler stations and cogeneration plants that burn fossil fuels, biomass, or waste. A smart move is to look around at the heat that’s already available — and free.
Just imagine the waste heat from a data center cooling hundreds of servers. Or the warm water in an old, flooded mine. What about capturing heat from underground subway tunnels?
Heat is everywhere — ready for you to harness.
Municipalities and energy companies are striving for low-carbon energy while facing growing demands from an ever-expanding population. Switching to a system that relies on electricity instead of fossil fuels is an obvious win.
However, that transition — along with the rising number of electric vehicle — could increase total electricity demand by up to 200%, pushing the existing grid beyond its capacity.
GEA heat pumps adjust to available capacity and prioritize the most cost-effective option. They can turn on or off, ramp load up or down, and adapt to any scenario. They even optimize operation based on when electricity is cheapest or supply is limited.
Smart, right?
GEA’s district heating solutions build on its long and proven history as a global leader in industrial refrigeration, where compression serves as the core technology.
District heating applications rely on this core expertise. Other industries benefiting from GEA’s technology and sustainability values include food, beverage, dairy, chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, natural gas, and marine.
Die GEA RedAstrum Wärmepumpe wird sowohl in Fernwärmesystemen als auch in industriellen Prozessen eingesetzt.
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First class electronic monitoring based on proven developments.
The intuitive touch for machine control technology.
Die innovativen Steuerungs- und Überwachungslösungen von GEA bieten die Möglichkeit, Produktionsprozesse zu steuern, die Effizienz zu maximieren und Systemausfallzeiten zu reduzieren.
Diese GEA Innovation vereint hocheffizientes Kühlen und Heizen in einem einzigen Produkt: Die neue GEA Blu-Red Fusion Serie ist eine Kombination aus den erfolgreichen GEA Blu Kaltwassersätzen (Niederdruckstufe) und GEA Red Wärmepumpen (Hochdruckstufe).
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Being future-proof goes beyond product life cycles and efficiency. In all aspects of our business, we support our company’s maxim: Engineering for a better world. We are driven by a passion for delivering solutions that reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints.
Furthermore, GEA’s commitment to sustainability includes using the most efficient heat pump technology with natural refrigerants such as ammonia (NH₃), which has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 0.
GEA’s approach to district heating aligns perfectly with our commitment to our customers and our planet.
GEA RedGenium Heat Pump On the Move
Heat pumps for decarbonizing process and district heating
Mit dem GEA kytero 10 steht Forschenden und Entwicklern in der Biopharma-, Lebensmittel- und New Food-Industrie nun die neueste Generation eines leistungsstarken Beschleunigers zur Seite.
Das Leben von Michele Schneider nahm eine unerwartete Wendung, als sie ihren Ehemann Virlei heiratete, einen jungen, ambitionierten Milchviehhalter, und gemeinsam mit ihm den Milchviehbetrieb „Fazenda Inovação Schneider Milk“ in Brasilien gründete. Als Quereinsteigerin in der Milchviehhaltung entdeckte Michele rasch ihre Leidenschaft für die Tiere und die tägliche Arbeit auf dem Hof. Mit dieser Begeisterung wuchs jedoch auch ihr Arbeitspensum.
GEA unterstützt Kunden beim Testen und Skalieren alternativer Eiprodukte und Zutaten, die durch Präzisionsfermentation hergestellt werden.