Sector Collaboration - Raw Chemicals Sector

Introduction

The chemical sector is a highly heterogeneous, energy-intensive industry with complex value chains involving raw-material suppliers, chemical producers, process-equipment manufacturers, technology suppliers, system integrators, consultants, regulators and end users. Conventional production relies heavily on steam, fossil fuels and combined heat and power (CHP) systems to provide process heat for operations such as thermal separation, treatment and drying. Many process temperatures are below 250°C, making industrial HTHPs and mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) relevant decarbonization options.

A key characteristic of the sector is the diversity of processes and site-specific requirements. HTHP solutions must therefore be holistic, retrofit-compatible, compact and adaptable to limited space and heterogeneous process conditions. Important integration possibilities include heat recovery, process-level efficiency improvements, temperature reduction, heat integration between processes, and the replacement or supplementation of conventional steam systems with HTHP and MVR technologies.

The main barriers are high investment and integration costs, limited economies of scale, technical and commercial risks, uncertainty about electricity prices and existing CHP assets, as well as country-specific regulatory conditions such as grid access and energy prices. Further challenges include possible technology lock-in and the need to maintain reliable production. Opportunities are holistic process integration, dynamic simulation, modular equipment concepts, large-scale demonstration projects, stable framework conditions and public funding. Collaboration among chemical companies, equipment manufacturers, HTHP suppliers, system integrators, researchers and regulators is essential to reduce risk and enable wider market adoption.

Next Activities

Further updates, new resources and opportunities for stakeholder engagement will be published on this page as they become available.

Contact

For further information on the Task 2 raw chemicals sector collaboration or the supporting documents, please contact Fabian Ahrendts at fabian.ahrendts@ieg.fraunhofer.de.

Dissemination

Explore Task 2 outputs on the application of HTHPs in the raw chemicals sector.