SPIRIT – Full-scale demonstration of industrial Heat Pumps [37]

Industry is responsible for over 25 % of EU greenhouse gas emissions, and decarbonising it is the key to achieving Europe’s climate goals. Industrial heating is a particular challenge due to the high temperatures needed by many industries.

The EU-funded SPIRIT project will address this challenge. The core of the SPIRIT project is carrying out three full-scale (0.7 – 4 MW) high-temperature (140 °C - 160 °C) Heat Pump technologies at three sites (in Norway, Belgium and Czech Republic) in the food and paper industry. It will investigate how their technical and economic performance can be improved and it will show how waste heat can be used to produce steam.

The presentation will explain the different applications foreseen and elaborate on the Heat Pump technologies that will be developed and built within this project. Two out of three applications will use conventional closed Rankine cycles with R-717 and R-601 as working medium. The third application will use direct steam compression. The actual demonstrations are planned to start in 2024 and will involve at least 2000 hours of testing. 

In addition to the demonstration cases, both desk studies and experimental activities will be carried out on compressor design, oil lubrication systems and the use of zeotropic mixtures.

To allow easy market introduction, the concept of a modular Heat Pump design covering a large share of the market is also explored. The project will also look at market potential, develop and demonstrate innovative business models and contractual agreements, and how they can increase the impact of industrial Heat Pumps in addition to identifying possible regulatory barriers.

The ultimate goal of the project, which will run for 3.5 years, is to enable industrial Heat Pumps to become the reference technology for covering industrial heat demand for temperatures up to 160 °C by 2030.