Industrial decarbonization with cascade heat pump systems – an analysis of the replication potential in Austria
Lately the role of industrial heat pumps in the transformation of energy provision significantly increased e.g. due to innovations and progresses in available refrigerants, technology, etc. First pilot plants, e.g. in the AHEAD project, are coming into operation. Thus, more real, industrial-scale operational data will be available in future. To significantly reduce industrial emissions a crucial step is the coming technology rollout. Therefore, this contribution assesses the rollout potential for cascade heat pump systems in the Austrian industrial sector. Subsystems of the subsequently mentioned cascade system are considered in the analysis: chiller – hot water generating heat pump – steam generating heat pump – steam compressor. In general, with this combination temperature lifts greater than 100 K can be realized attracting a wide range of industrial production sites and needs. To determine the rollout potential for cascade heat pump systems the following approaches are combined: (i) Assessment of suitable industrial sectors for integration (e.g. paper, dairies, breweries, pharmaceutical industry, etc.), (ii) Localization and assessment of site-specific industrial energy consumption in Austria and, (iii) Derivation of future potential for heat pump cascade rollout with highly resolved industrial sites to determine the impact of this transition in Austria. In this work generic integration concepts for the identified subsectors and performance indicators, e.g. prospective CO2-emission reduction and an estimate for the installed capacity, are presented. This work serves as a strong planning foundation for different stakeholders – public bodies and funding agencies, technology suppliers, and engineering companies but also research and industry themselves.