Topical Article: Opportunities for High-Temperature Heat Pumps as Grid Flexibility Providers

This article discusses the potential benefits and research gaps in deploying high-temperature heat pumps (HTHPs) in the industry, which could unlock the electrification of thermal processes, achieve high efficiencies, and recover waste heat sources up to 200°C. Integrating these technologies with thermal energy storage and Demand Side Management (DSM) strategies could unleash a flexibility potential deriving from the industrial sector electrification, leading to significant benefits for both industrial actors and grid operators. The study also explores the system-level analysis and the need for a more in-depth modelling of industrial processes to quantify the real impact of HTHP integration on the grid, and shows how industrial heat pumps can contribute to the grid’s frequency containment reserve and stability. Three categories of DSM strategies are identified to enhance the flexibility of industrial thermal loads, including process rescheduling, thermal inertia exploitation, and thermal buffers.

The article highlights the importance of increasing awareness of the benefits of HTHPs and thermal storage in the industry to enable their large-scale deployment, and emphasizes the need for R&D on heat pumps as promising technologies to provide flexibility to the grid. Moreover, to perform a meaningful analysis at energy system level, some key aspects need to be considered in future research, such as the detailed analysis of industrial thermal processes and their integration potential, the representation of both the supply side and demand side and their interaction, and the development of more accurate models of the energy system and processes.

In conclusion, the study emphasizes the potential of high-temperature heat pumps to contribute to the decarbonization of the industrial sector and the energy system, and calls for further research and collaboration among stakeholders to explore the full potential of these technologies, and their integration with DSM and other flexibility solutions, to achieve a more sustainable and resilient energy system.

Alessia Arteconi, Chiara Magni, Belgium

A. Phong Tran, Johannes Oehler, Panagiotis Stathopoulos, Germany

This text has been shortened by the HPC team

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Heat Pumping Technologies MAGAZINE, Vol.41 No. 1/2023

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