Decarbonizing industry, one heat pump installation at a time
Heat is heat, whether it’s -40 or +140 degrees Celsius. Wasting it leads not only to wasted money, but also increases the carbon footprint of many industrial processes, especially where both heating and cooling are required. Energy-efficient heat pumps are rapidly becoming the technology of choice in the drive for a lower-emission future. This technology is helping industry and cities alike meet ever-stricter environmental regulations, achieve their own sustainability targets and reduce operating costs.
Climate change is a pressing issue globally. This was made very clear at the historic 2015 climate summit which resulted in the Paris Agreement, a global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit temperature rise to at least 1.5 degrees Celsius. The European Union has now established a European Green Deal and has committed itself to leading the world on climate action, and more importantly, setting clear targets. This includes the aim of halving its emissions by 2030 and becoming a net-zero carbon zone by 2050.
The challenge is not a small one, given that according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), heat accounts for more than half of global total final energy consumption, most of which is produced from fossil fuels. Therefore, heat decarbonization needs to be greatly accelerated if these ambitious targets are to be met. The EU is also phasing out fluorinated gases, commonly used as refrigerants, in accordance with the European F-Gas regulation which was established to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The combination of increased legislation, technological advances and their own desire to reduce their environmental impact, is creating the necessary momentum for manufacturers to connect their business strategy to their decarbonization strategy. Food manufacturers that have taken early steps to reduce emissions can benefit from integrating heat pumps into their production processes. This is particularly relevant for facilities that require both heating during processing and subsequent cooling, where recovering and reusing heat can create opportunities to improve energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and lower associated emissions.
Industry’s hidden champion: The heat pump
With applications in both B2B and B2C, the heat pump has come a long way since it was first used to dry salt mined from Austrian marshes in the 1850s. Already well known for use in district heating and the residential sector, heat pumps are gaining ground in industrial manufacturing as companies look for ways to improve energy efficiency, reduce associated CO₂ emissions and manage operating costs while responding to evolving environmental regulations.
Heat pumps convert renewable or waste energy from buildings and processes to provide heating. For example: During cooling, refrigeration systems emit heat from a condenser, which is simply released into the environment. The heat pump captures this valuable resource and then boosts the temperature to produce heat suitable for other production purposes.
When a heat pump is integrated with a refrigeration unit, heat that would otherwise be rejected can be recovered and reused for heating, creating opportunities to improve overall energy efficiency. In food, dairy and beverage production, where both heating and cooling are often essential, this integrated approach can help reduce energy consumption and operating costs.*
GEA heat pump installation, Mars chocolate production facility, Veghel, the Netherlands. This customized solution uses GEA piston compressors which allow for the extraction and boosting of otherwise unusable low-temperature heat from the refrigeration units for reuse in heating water. (Photo source: RCC K&L)
Reducing CO2 and refrigerant emissions
As regulations increasingly restrict the use of certain fluorinated gases (F-gases), natural refrigerants are gaining attention as alternatives, particularly ammonia. Ammonia is a naturally occurring refrigerant with zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and a global warming potential (GWP) of zero under standard refrigerant rating conventions. It is widely available and can offer cost advantages, depending on the application and system design.
Ammonia is used extensively in food processing plants, in the beverage and dairy industries, as well as in breweries and cold stores. Thanks to improvements in compressor technology, ammonia heat pumps can now produce higher temperatures. This has paved the way for their more widespread use in the food, beverage and dairy industries, where waste heat can be reused and boosted for washing, cleaning and drying products; heating water for cleaning and processing purposes, as well as pasteurization.
Traditionally, many food, dairy and beverage processes have relied on boilers for cooking or pasteurization, followed by refrigeration to cool products down. This creates an opportunity to recover heat that would otherwise be rejected. By raising the temperature of recovered heat to 90°C and above in suitable applications, heat pumps can make it available for reuse in processes that require higher temperatures. This integrated approach can improve energy efficiency, reduce the need for fossil-fuel-based heating and help lower associated CO₂ emissions. Using renewable electricity can further reduce emissions from heat pump operation.*
Customized solutions provide giant leap forward for food industry
“GEA’s industrial heat pump portfolio covers capacities from 300 kW to 10,000 kW and can support a wide range of industrial and district-heating applications.” explains Kenneth Hoffmann, Product Manager Heat Pumps, GEA Refrigeration Technologies. “But every application is different and requires a tailored approach. We have the advantage of being able to combine extensive process knowledge and expertise in integrated heating and cooling solutions. We design everything in such a way that the heat source remains stable and permanently available, so that the use of waste heat can be optimized.”
Traditional installations with gas boilers are normally designed for a much higher heat carrier temperature than actually required in the process; this leads to inaccurate heat load calculations and therefore unnecessary energy waste. While the integration of a heat pump system requires a comprehensive analysis of the required temperatures and an assessment of the right process parameters, the more accurate the initial design, the more energy can be saved – therefore every degree counts. Rather than using small pipes with a significant temperature difference to keep the initial cost down, a heat pump investment is based on continuous savings, every day.
Every application is different and requires a tailored approach. We have the advantage of being able to combine extensive process knowledge and expertise in integrated heating and cooling solutions.”
Kenneth Hoffmann, Product Manager Heat Pumps, GEA Refrigeration Technologies
“We have excellent relationships, sometimes spanning decades, with our processing customers. Many of these came about because of a refrigeration installation we delivered; that’s really where our roots and expertise lie,” says Maarten Gelens, Refrigeration Expert, GEA Refrigeration Technologies, the Netherlands. Robert Unsworth, Technical Sales Director GEA Refrigeration Technologies UK, adds: “Working with our customers, we strive to achieve their sustainability goals which includes realizing energy savings and reducing their CO2 emissions. The application of heat pumps in the food, dairy and beverage sectors is going to be the biggest leap forward that food production and refrigeration has ever seen.”
Business growth and sustainability: two sides of the same coin
To meet sustainability goals the IEA has stated that the share of clean energy technologies, such as heat pumps and solar thermal heating, needs to triple to more than one quarter of new heating equipment sales by 2030. Heat pump technology delivers energy and cost-savings regardless of the industry in which it is used or the extent to which it is utilized. It can do basic jobs, like heating and cooling a small suburban home, right up to taking a central role in a super smart, zero-emissions strategy for district heating or in a large food production plant. GEA also helps manufacturers look at their plants holistically, by analyzing each process to identify opportunities for increasing efficiency and cost-savings. This approach or offering, which we call GEA Holistic Engineering Solutions (NEXUS), often includes the integration of a heat pump to capture and reuse waste heat, which can be found in abundance in many production environments.
The application of heat pumps in the food, dairy and beverage sectors is going to be the biggest leap forward that food production and refrigeration has ever seen.”
Robert Unsworth, Technical Sales Director GEA Refrigeration Technologies UK
