GEA meVap® Compression

GEA’s meVap® system is an industrial heat pump solution based on proven mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) technology. GEA meVap® Compression offers a powerful, future ready solution to decarbonize industrial steam generation. By tapping into waste heat and electrifying thermal processes, we help customers transition to sustainable, efficient, and resilient operations.

Electrified steam generation with GEA meVap® Compression.

Across energy intensive industries, a significant share of the energy used in production is still lost as low grade waste heat—whether in the form of exhaust vapors, warm process liquids, or wastewater. In many cases, this thermal energy must even be cooled down with additional energy before it can be released to the environment.

GEA enables customers to unlock this vast and often untapped potential. With meVap® Compression, our advanced steam producing high temperature heat pump, we transform waste heat into valuable process steam—supporting decarbonization, reducing fossil fuel dependency, and improving overall plant efficiency.

How does GEA help drive decarbonization?

With meVap® Compression, GEA supports industrial customers in:

• Reducing energy consumption and lowering dependency on fossil fuels
• Reusing waste heat for internal or external steam demands
• Significantly increasing plant efficiency through intelligent heat integration

By electrifying steam generation and recovering process heat, GEA meVap® Compression becomes a central enabler on the path toward net zero operations.

How does the meVap® Compression work?

GEA’s meVap® compression is designed specifically for low temperature waste heat streams and delivers steam at the required pressure and temperature for production processes.

1. Harvesting waste heat  

The system extracts energy from warm liquids, dryer vapors, exhaust air, cooling water, or low pressure steam. Even streams that are no longer usable for the original process often contain considerable recoverable energy. Depending on the available heat a heat pump can be integrated to achieve a better overall efficiency or in case the waste energy in air/vapor streams can be cleaned prior to high temperature heat pump system. 

2. Generating low pressure steam

Depending on the medium, falling film or forced circulation evaporators convert the recovered heat into low pressure steam. When wastewater is used as a source, an additional flashing step converts liquid into vapor.

3. Mechanical vapor recompression (MVR)

An electrically driven compressor draws in the steam and increases its pressure and temperature in a single or multi stage configuration. This raises the steam to a higher pressure level, enabling it to be used directly as a heating medium.

4. Delivering high temperature process steam

The upgraded steam—produced using renewable electricity and waste heat—can fully or partially replace fossil based steam supply. The exact system layout is tailored to the available heat source, output requirements, and site conditions.

What are the key advantages of GEA meVap® Compression?

• Reduced primary energy demand and lower CO₂ emissions through efficient heat recovery
• Lower consumption of fresh steam and cooling water, resulting in significant OPEX savings
• Compact, flexible, and retrofit friendly design for fast integration into existing plants
• Mature, industrial scale technology backed by GEA’s decades of experience in evaporation, heat pumps, and MVR systems
• High operational reliability supported by advanced automation, safety features, and GEA’s DynamicProcessTwin

High temperature heat pump efficiency