Energy Efficiency and Electrification Technologies for Heat Flow Optimization in Process Industries

Industrial process heating accounts for 16 % of total final energy demand and 13 % of the greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

Decarbonizing industrial process heating through electrification and increased energy efficiency is a key measure for reaching the climate targets in 2030, reducing the dependency on fossil fuels, strengthening the exploitation of local renewable energy sources and increasing the competitiveness of the European industry.

While there are highly efficient technologies, such as industrial heat pumps, available for temperatures below 150 °C, there is a clear demand for novel technologies for processes with heat demands at higher temperatures.

EEETHOS will fill this technology gap by developing key-enabling technologies for energy efficient, flexible and decarbonized process heating, and demonstrating them in five installations at industrial end-users at a TRL of 7.

The technologies comprise among others, two high-temperature heat pump solutions for steam supply at up to 200 °C, a reversed Brayton heat pump with supply temperatures up to 300 °C, an innovative technology for heat pump-based drying and heating of minerals, a highly integrated steam compression-based solution for superheated steam drying and a heat capturing device for radiative waste heat recovery.

These key-enabling technologies will be demonstrated in 5 demonstrators at industrial end-users representing EUs energy intensive process industries: asphalt, ceramics, pulp & paper, bricks and steel.

These technologies are scalable for plant-wide implementation, allow a complete decarbonization at energy savings between 43 % to 86 %, based on local renewable energy sources.

The development, implementation, operation and scaling of these technologies is optimized by use of digital twin-based solutions.

The project will be a cornerstone for enabling a decarbonized, efficient and competitive European industry, by developing and demonstrating key-enabling technologies at large scale.