Estimating the potential of industrial (high-temperature) heat pumps for exploiting waste heat in EU industries

A mapping of the potential of industrial heat pumps in EU industries is presented at both industrial branch and country level. This task required the estimation of the waste heat and its temperature level that can supply this type of heat pumps, as well as the industrial heat consumption within appropriate temperature bands. The matching of these two heat flows in each branch resulted to the potential of this upcoming technology for waste heat recovery towards the decarbonization of EU industries. The results of this analysis showed that the total potential of industrial heat pumps is 28.37 TWh/year in EU that corresponds to 1.5% of the total heat consumption. The necessary waste heat to be recovered and then upgraded by the heat pump for covering this consumption is about 21 TWh/year, which is 7% of the total waste heat potential in EU industries. Moreover, the most promising branches for applying this technology have been identified, which are the non-metallic minerals, food, paper, and non-ferrous metal ones, with chemical and other industries showing a much lower potential. The overall results of this work provide the amount of the wasted energy that can be exploited even with today's heat pump technology, producing heat at a temperature up to 150 C. The focus is on the EU level, and the main findings and conclusions provide an initial and reliable screening of the heat recovery opportunities in the most promising sectors. A case study of a paper industry is also included in this work, providing some first highlights of this potential, including the calculation of the payback period of this solution. However, a more detailed study at the site-level should follow for the actual estimation of an industrial heat pump potential and any possible site restrictions, as well as alternative heat recovery options, which is outside the scope of the current work.