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Industry Impact
still maintaining heat exchangers we built over 60 years ago . But we also want to offer upgrading possibilities for these installations so they can benefit from the latest technology .”
Collaborative effort Key to the success of a climate neutral industry future is collaboration amongst big players , which Alfa Laval recognises well . Recent years have shown great progress propelled via industry partnerships and cooperation . One such initiative is Remade to Matter , an innovative partnership between Alfa Laval and Swedish recycling company , Stena Recycling . “ Remade to Matter can help customers to decarbonise their business even faster . We are encouraging the replacement of old , inefficient heat exchangers with new ones . Stena Recycling then takes these old units to Sweden for full recycling of the materials ,” Julien explains . The idea was inspired by Stena ’ s business-driven collaboration arena called ‘ Circular Initiative ’. “ We are now looking to expand this concept globally with other partners – although Stena has presence in many Scandinavian countries , we want to have recycling stations local to the point of connection to avoid shipping old heat exchangers across continents to be recycled .” Another partnership is with global Swedish steel company SSAB , as Alfa Laval collaborates with them on the development and commercialisation of the world ’ s first carbon neutral heat exchanger , made of fossil free carbon steel . The aim of Concept Zero is to have the first unit ready by 2023 with serial production starting in 2026 , and Julien expresses confidence that this will be achieved . “ This collaboration with SSAB is of course only the first step in the journey ,” he says . “ For an entirely carbon free heat exchanger , you need to find ways to make every element carbon free . So we are looking at
Julien Gennetier - VP Energy Division and President BU Gasketed Plate Heat Exchangers , Alfa Laval
Jenny Jamot - Process Engineer , Alfa Laval Energy Division
all the different components of our scope 3 emissions in a very systematic way in order to reach the goal . Carbon steel was the biggest contributor and now that we have solved this , we move onto the next challenge .” Julien continues : “ If we can help to create a market pull from and for all of our customers , then it will create a good dynamic for all of the industry to move in that direction and make those major investments in order to decarbonise these hard-to-abate sectors . Heat exchangers are vital to the industries in which change is most needed . We often say that you are never more than 1km away from a heat exchanger .”
Energy efficiency movement The running theme of my conversation with Julien and Jenny of Alfa Laval was an appreciation of partnerships and collaborative approaches to work . The company understands that not one party can fix climate concerns alone and so it has joined leading technology group ABB in creating the ‘ Energy Efficiency Movement ’. “ This is a movement to drive attention to the clean energy source that everybody has ; energy efficiency . It is already available and doesn ’ t take a lot of technological development ,” Julien explains . “ We mentioned 40 % of the CO2 reduction , but actually by 2030 it seems to be that 50 % or more will come from energy efficiency thanks to the readiness of the technology .” The point of this movement is to encourage industry players to work together and educate more people on the topic , in order to identify those opportunities in their own plant and buildings . In terms of its own outlook , Julien explains that Alfa Laval is on track to achieve its ambitious targets on time , despite widespread company growth , production increase , and higher demand for its more energy intensive product offering . Indeed , the company ’ s 2022 Q1 report showed 23 % of its order intake coming from process industry equipment , touted by 44 % for HVAC and refrigeration applications . This reflects a demand for heat pumps , heating and cooling technology , and industrial and commercial refrigeration . “ It ’ s definitely a challenge ,” he concedes . “ But with the momentum and commitment I see within our teams and partnerships , we will achieve our targets . Not everything will be easy ; for some things we already have solutions , other things we are still working hard to solve . But that ’ s what these deadlines are for , to encourage creativity ,” Julien smiles .
www . heat-exchanger-world . com Heat Exchanger World October 2022
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