On 28-29 April 2026, the EXQUISHEAT consortium gathered in Warsaw, Poland, for the project’s first General Assembly, hosted by Narodowa Agencja Poszanowania Energii S.A. (National Energy Conservation Agency).
The two-day meeting provided an important opportunity for partners to review progress across all work packages, exchange expertise and align on the next steps towards accelerating the deployment of industrial heat pumps in the food and beverage sector.
Understanding industrial needs and identifying opportunities
Discussions began with updates from Work Package 2, dedicated to understanding industrial needs and identifying suitable applications for industrial heat pumps.
The first identification phase has now been completed, resulting in the collection of 28 use cases across Germany, Poland, Spain, Belgium and Italy, primarily covering food and beverage applications. Building on this work, partners are now implementing a structured data collection protocol focusing on four key industrial processes and supported by insights from energy audits.
These activities will provide the foundation for identifying applications with strong replication potential across the sector.
Developing scalable heat pump solutions
Work Package 3 focused on the development of heat pump solution concepts based on standardised thermal load profiles.
Partners presented the progress achieved so far, including the application of pinch analysis methodologies to better understand industrial energy systems and identify opportunities for heat recovery and process integration. This systematic approach will support the design of efficient and replicable industrial heat pump solutions tailored to food and beverage processes.
Putting stakeholders at the centre
Stakeholder engagement was another central topic of discussion during the meeting.
As part of Work Package 4, Food-Processing Initiative e. V. organised an interactive workshop dedicated to stakeholder participation throughout the project lifecycle. Partners explored methods to identify key actors, understand their expectations and barriers, and define strategies to ensure meaningful involvement in project activities.
The discussions highlighted the importance of engaging industrial end users, technology providers, manufacturers, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders from an early stage in order to maximise the impact and uptake of project results.
The consortium also reviewed progress on interviews with food and beverage companies and heat pump manufacturers, which aim to provide valuable insights into industrial processes, market needs and barriers to heat pump deployment.
Ensuring long-term impact beyond the project
The second day of the meeting focused on sustainability, replication and exploitation activities under Work Package 6.
Partners discussed strategies to maximise the long-term impact of EXQUISHEAT and explored opportunities for collaboration with other European initiatives, including the 2cool2waste projects cluster. The development of exploitation materials and an initial review of existing guidelines and tools also provided a basis for discussions on how project results can build on and complement existing resources.
Updates on communication and dissemination activities were also presented, with a focus on increasing the visibility of the project, engaging relevant audiences and ensuring that project outcomes reach stakeholders across Europe.
Looking ahead
The first General Assembly confirmed the strong commitment of all consortium partners and demonstrated the significant progress already achieved during the first months of the project.
A special thank you goes to Narodowa Agencja Poszanowania Energii S.A. for the excellent organisation of the meeting and the warm welcome in Warsaw, which also included a guided city tour and valuable opportunities for informal exchanges among partners.
As EXQUISHEAT moves forward, the consortium will continue working together to unlock the potential of industrial heat pumps and support the decarbonisation of the European food and beverage industry.
