Around 270 kW of excess heat recovered from refrigeration, with no interruption to production during installation: Sweden’s Grilstad meat factory shows how food producers can make better use of their energy.
This was one of two practical examples presented at EHPA’s Heat BIG webinar with the EXQUISHEAT EU project on 30 September, exploring industrial heat pumps in the food and beverage sector.
Sören Friis-Hansen from heat pump manufacturer Enrad explained how Grilstad replaced its ageing refrigeration plant with a system using the natural refrigerant R290. In operation since 2019, the installation provides around 350 kW of cooling alongside heat recovery, with district heating needed only for peak demand.
At Stella Polaris in Norway, refrigeration heat offers another opportunity: producing steam for prawn processing. Jaran Rauø presented a demonstration installation developed under the EU-funded SPIRIT project, which aims to replace a fossil fuel boiler with high-temperature heat pumps. The system is designed to deliver 700 kW of steam production at around 145°C, using heat from refrigeration that would otherwise be released into seawater.
Both examples underline the value of looking at heating and cooling needs together.
Sabrina Dusek from the Austrian Institute of Technology explained how assessing a factory’s available heat sources helps identify the most efficient ways to integrate heat pumps.
What will help more companies adopt these solutions?
Eric Lecomte from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy addressed the path from research and development to industrial deployment. Collaboration between researchers, heat pump providers and industrial users can support this transition, as illustrated by EHPA’s work with Cepi, the association representing the European paper industry.
Audrey Meurisse from environmental services provider Veolia presented preliminary EXQUISHEAT findings from interviews with ten industrial users in Germany and Spain. These identified uncertain returns, investment costs, skills gaps and integration challenges as barriers to uptake.
The webinar was moderated by Uli Jakob from dr. jakob energy research GmbH & Co. KG.
