On the 7th of February, DryFiciency participated in the high-level meeting “Renewable heating in the pulp and paper industry, assessing potentials of innovative solutions”. Organised by EHPA, CEPI and Solar Heat Europe, the meeting was part of the European Industry Week 2019 by the European Commission. Representatives of industry, officials of the European Commission DG GROW and DG CLIMA, and consultants gather together to discuss innovative solutions for the industrial processes of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

During the first part of the meeting, doable solutions involving heat pumps and solar thermal panels in industrial applications were presented. Veronika Wilk, coordinator of the DryFiciency Project (first image left), outlined to the audience the opportunities for heat pumps in industrial processes. Positive comments came from the audience, and some industry members asked for more information regarding the heat supply temperature, the increase of efficiency, the energy savings, and implementing costs.

Following the presentations, an intense discussion took place over the applicability of the presented solutions, as well as the technical, economic and regulatory barriers which are slowing the deployment of renewable solutions in Pulp and Paper Industry productions sites. There is no silver bullet to solve the situation, said Nicola Rega, director of climate change and energy at CEPI during the meeting; calling the Pulp and Paper industry for a stronger focus on energy efficiency, with more pilot projects. Thomas Nowak, Secretary General of EHPA and partner of the DryFiciency Project, called for a blueprint containing all possible solutions for decarbonising the industry. He also asked policymakers to increase the available funding, as well as the collaboration with research centers. Representatives of the European Commission, DG GROW and DG CLIMA, agreed on the need for more dissemination efforts, and also to create more synergies, especially cross-sectorial. For this purpose, they announced the creation of the Innovation Fund starting in 2020. This fund will have a broad scope, but the precise aim to drive innovative technologies to the market, especially in the field of renewable energy. 

Author: 

Eirini Litina

Communications Manager

European Heat Pump Association AISBL

eirini.litina@ehpa.org