International News
ELECTRIFYING INDUSTRIAL
PROCESSES WITH HEAT PUMPS
By the Australian Renewable Energy Agency ( ARENA )
Manufacturers are being supported to scope the feasibility of using renewable energy to produce heat . Food processors , brewers , petfood producers and other industrial energy users are exploring whether it is feasible to use renewable energy to produce industrial grade heat .
Process heating accounts for the largest share of onsite energy use in Australian manufacturing , with lower temperature operations like food production particularly well-suited to transition to renewables .
To help producers to understand how they could benefit from making the switch , ARENA provided funding to the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity ( A2EP ) to undertake prefeasibility studies at a range of sites around Australia , with the most promising locations advancing to full feasibility studies .
A2EP ’ s work is focused on promoting commercially available technologies like heat pumps and thermal storage , which are not yet widely used in Australia but have demonstrated their potential overseas .
European countries are showing what is possible with strong adoption of heat pumps for industrial and residential applications , particularly in Scandinavia where the technology has taken market share from traditional gas boilers .
The growth in popularity is evident in a recent study published by Global Market Insights that predicts the European industrial heat pump market will surpass USD 300 Million by 2027 .
Two sites are planning the transition to renewable process heat following A2EP-led studies – Hardwick Meatworks in Victoria ’ s Macedon Ranges and the 3 Ravens Brewery in Melbourne ’ s inner-north .
BEER AND BEEF Both Hardwicks and 3 Ravens plan to use renewable electricity from existing solar arrays to power heat pumps , and also transfer waste heat from chillers to produce hot water for cleaning , sterilisation and packaging .
As well as maximising the use of the existing solar PV installations , the systems could dramatically reduce the use of gas boilers at both sites and provide greater flexibility in their energy demand . Innovations like these are predicted to become a growing market as more renewables come online , providing a way to maximise the utilisation of cheap wind and solar to manage peaks in energy demand .
Ernesto Rodriguez | Pixabay
Role players predict that a greater uptake of heat pump technology will create hundreds of local jobs and stimulate more than AUD50 million of investment per year .
According to A2EP chief executive officer Jarrod Leak , heat pumps have a wide range of applications and are proving to be the best technology to improve energy productivity and decarbonise heating below 100 degrees Celsius .
“ Almost all food and beverage processing has a demand for sub 100 degree heat , especially for cleaning and sterilising but also for many drying applications ,” Leak explains . “ The new range of heat pumps being developed for 150 degrees Celsius heat will be the real game changer , with the ability to transform many more industries such as brick and paper manufacturing .”
He predicts that a greater uptake of the technology will create hundreds of local jobs and stimulate more than AUD50 million of investment per year .
“ The potential reduction in natural gas usage for the manufacturing sector would be more than 5 PJ / annum or more than 255,000 tonnes per annum of CO 2
. This will play an important role in reducing Australia ’ s emissions in the ‘ hard to abate ’ area of process heating .”
Leak explained that the “ coefficient of performance ” for industrial heat pumps is the key to their effectiveness . For every kW of electrical energy input , you can move up to 6kWs of thermal energy . A steam system usually operates at an efficiency of less than 60 % so a heat pump can be a tenfold improvement
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I June 2022 11