Recent results from the Wienerberger demonstration shows the exiting potential for emissions reductions.  “Looking at the comparison of a natural gas burner that supplies the same heat, we can see the end energy and CO2 emissions as well as the energy cost reduction that are possible when utilising the DryFiciency high temperature heat pumps (HTHP) system” says Wilk. “On end energy reduction and CO2 emissions reduction we can see a saving of between 65-80% depending on heat supply temperature of the heat pump” (as seen in Fig 1).

Figure 1: V. Wilk et al. High temperature heat pumps for industrial processes – application and potential; 5 ECEEE Industrial Summer Study Proceedings, 4-132-20, 2020, p.329-334

The second Figure shows cost effective operation at all points with significant energy cost reduction possible. While the blue line shows current Austrian energy costs, the red line displays these costs with the current CO2pricing of approx. €24/t, the grey line is using a future assumed price of €50/ton for CO2. For the highest heat supply temperature being tested in DryFiciency this translates to a reduction of 10% now to some 30% with future pricing.

Figure 2: V. Wilk et al. High temperature heat pumps for industrial processes – application and potential; 5 ECEEE Industrial Summer Study Proceedings, 4-132-20, 2020, p.329-334

“This clearly demonstrates an important driver for the competitiveness for this technology”, says Wilk. “Taking this a step further to extrapolate the significance and impact on EU level, the case for high temperature heat pumps becomes even more compelling.”

As drying account for some 10-25% of the total industrial use in the EU (amounting to between 320TWh – 800 TWh of energy consumption, the significance of making these processes more energy efficient is evident. If the DryFiciency heat pump would be rolled out to 50% of all drying process in the EU thereby replacing natural gas burners, the impact would amount to 7-18% savings in primary energy and a stunning 3-7% of total CO2emissions[1]. The impact is vast in the fields of industrial drying application and enormous if extended to other fields where heat pump technology can be utilised. Here DryFiciency is leading the way by utilising high temperature heat pump technology in the most efficient way towards a greener European industry.

See the full presentation here and discover the full potential and ways to integrate heat pumps into production sites and industrial processes.

[1] Wilk et al. (2019) Decarbonization of industrial processes with heat pumps, ICR Conference 2019, DOI: 10.18462/iir.icr.2019.832