Heating – mostly produced from the combustion of fossil fuels – accounts for more than half of global energy consumption, according to IEA [Renewables 2025 – Renewable heat].
If the ambitious targets set in the historic Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C compared to preindustrial levels are to be achieved, technologies like heat pumps will need to play a greater role.
Heat pumps – supporting more energy-efficient heating
Heat pumps work much like a traditional refrigerator. Instead of simply rejecting heat to the surroundings, they can recover heat and raise its temperature for reuse. By recovering and upgrading heat, heat pumps can help reduce heating costs and reliance on fossil-fuel-based heating. In applications such as food and beverage production, integrating heating, cooling and heat recovery can create opportunities to improve energy efficiency and reduce associated emissions. At larger scale, heat pumps can also support district-heating networks by supplying useful heat.
Think about how much heat is required for such a simple task as boiling water in a kettle. Heat pumps can use three to five times less energy than an efficient gas boiler [IEA – Energy Efficiency 2024]. Now extrapolate that to a massive factory generating tons of processed food every day or several thousand homes and public buildings in a district heating network – suddenly the sheer potential is clear. In the case of a food processing factory, heat treatment and subsequent cooling must occur. This combination of maximizes the benefit of heat pump installations.
The high efficiency and potentially lower maintenance requirements of heat pumps can contribute to an attractive return on investment, while their long service life can provide benefits over many years. By reducing reliance on fossil-fuel-based combustion, heat pumps can help lower associated CO₂ emissions and reduce on-site NOx emissions.*
GEA heat pump technologies can help improve energy efficiency across a wide range of industries and applications. In district heating schemes, they provide the base heat load and are also an adjustable heat source. Their rapid reaction time is a good match with large networks. They can also help support grid stability through smart energy systems that adjust loads according to requests from the electrical supplier.
Natural refrigerants
GEA also uses natural refrigerants such as ammonia in its refrigeration and heat pump technologies, offering a low-GWP alternative to many synthetic refrigerants. We have been working with natural refrigerants since 1910 when our first ammonia compressor was introduced. GEA customers are actively encouraged to adopt or switch to natural refrigerants if they are already using fluorinated greenhouse gas (F-gas) systems. Due to their high global warming potential, the use of many fluorinated gases (F-gases) is increasingly restricted under environmental regulations. Refrigerants such as R22 and R404A have already seen significant restrictions on their use, particularly in new equipment and servicing.
Pumped up food and beverages processing
The heat pump has come a long way since it was first used to dry salt mined from Austrian marshes in the 1850s. Nowadays, ammonia heat pumps are used in food, dairy and beverage applications to recover heat and can support reductions in fossil-fuel use, operational emissions and operating costs.
• Mars, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of chocolate, chewing gum, mints and fruity confections, has achieved energy and CO2 reduction with GEA’s heat pump solution at its facility in Veghel, Netherlands — one of the largest chocolate factories in the world. The heat pump installation reduces the chocolate factory’s carbon footprint and contributes to Mars’ sustainability goals. Read the full Mars Wrigley story.
• Aurivo, Ireland’s second largest liquid milk processor, has cut carbon dioxide emissions at its Killygordon site by 80 percent, thanks to a multimillion-euro upgrade that includes new liquid processing systems and state-of-the-art, energy-saving refrigeration and heat pump systems from GEA. The successful project highlights the benefit of the GEA’s unique integrated processing and heating and cooling approach and has been awarded an Excellence in Energy Efficiency Design (EXEED) certification from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Read the full Aurivo story.
• Intermalt, Interflour’s malting facility in southern Vietnam, has significantly reduced its energy consumption. A GEA heat pump upgrades the waste heat from the cooling plant and then channels it to heat the air required for kilning. Approximately 2,000 tons of CO2 per year is saved with this integrated solution. This enables Intermalt to improve energy efficiency in its malt production and support its environmental objectives, while providing customers with high-quality malt at competitive price points. Read the full Intermalt story.
A GEA ammonia heat pump plant at Mars, Inc., helps the confectionery manufacturer reach its sustainability goals.
Warming up to district heating
Modern district heating systems can use heat pumps to upgrade heat from a range of sources, including ambient air, the ground, industrial processes, subway networks and water treatment plants. With electricity as the driving energy, the recovered heat can be raised to temperatures of up to 95°C in suitable applications to supply heating and hot water to district heating networks. Using electricity from renewable sources can further reduce the associated emissions.
• In Malmö, Sweden, four GEA 10 MW heat pumps operate next to a sewage treatment plant and a waste incinerator near the harbor. They now provide 8 percent of the total energy usage of approximately 100,000 homes, saving close to 50,000 tons of CO2 every year. They illustrate that although district heating works best in areas with a high population density, it is not a prerequisite. Read the full Malmö story.• GEA’s heat pump technology has also been at the heart of a unique solution at the Bunhill Heat and Power Network project in central London. By reusing waste heat from the London Underground, the GEA heat pump solution helps supply lower-carbon and more cost-effective heating to 1,350 homes, a school and two leisure centers in Islington, compared with conventional alternatives. Read the full Bunhill 2 Energy Centre story.
• Gateshead in northeast England relies partially on natural heat captured from water in flooded disused coal mines. The water is boosted from 15°C up to 80°C using two 3 MW GEA ammonia heat pumps. The resulting hot water supplies heat to hundreds of homes and other public and private buildings in the area. Read the full Gateshead story.
A GEA ammonia heat pump plant at Gateshead uses natural heat from flooded disused coal mines.
Why switch to a heat pump?
The use of heat pumps can help industries to:
1. Improve energy efficiency. Heat pump solutions, either combined with energy-efficient refrigeration systems or stand-alone, can help improve heating performance significantly.
2. Decrease operating costs. Replacing a fossil fuel based-heating system with a highly efficient heat pump will lower operating costs.
3. Reduce the carbon footprint. Heat pumps can help reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-based heating and associated emissions.
4. Meet sustainability goals. A heat pump solution is a future-proof investment, especially as regulations strive to phase out carbon-intensive technologies.
5. Common sense. Many industrial and infrastructure applications reject heat that may be suitable for recovery. A heat pump can raise suitable recovered heat to a useful temperature, potentially reducing the need for additional heat generation.
Rethinking heat for a changing climate
According to the IEA, if all countries were to fulfil the pledges they have made to reduce carbon, global heating would reach about 1.7°C above preindustrial temperatures.
But this relies on countries implementing policies rather than simply stating goals. These are the findings of a new report, The State of Climate Action 2023, compiled by six climate thinktanks that examined all aspects of climate policy from governments across the world.
Although other recent studies have found a rapid acceleration of the uptake of green technology around the world, including the expansion of renewable energy, the report found few bright spots. The prospect of staying within 1.5°C will slip away altogether without drastic action, the authors warned.
One thing is sure: the targets to reduce emissions are ambitious. GEA is proud to develop heat pump technologies that can help improve energy efficiency, reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-based heating and lower associated emissions. It’s one of many ways we are engineering for a better world and working to meet our ambitious sustainability goals.
