Sustainable process heating with high-temperature heat pumps using natural refrigerants

This project aims at developing three high-temperature heat pump systems for process heat supply at temperatures of up to 200 °C. The three systems are based on steam (water), hydrocarbons, and CO2 as working fluids, and they are optimized for different industrial applications. The technologies are supplementing each other, and altogether this heat pump portfolio implies the potential to cover all kinds of process heat demands up to 200 °C at the highest efficiencies. Thereby, the technologies enable electrification and decarbonization of a wide share of the process heat demand of the industry and constitute a key-technology for reaching the Danish climate targets, especially when considering the increasing share of renewables in the power generation and the respective potentials through sector coupling.
The project is expected to provide the basis for considerable increases in turnover and employment in Denmark based on technologies that are able to provide a direct contribution to reaching the ambitious Danish climate targets. For the Danish market, it is expected that the number of high-temperature heat pump installations reaches a similar order of magnitude as for district heating by 2030 and that the growth continues towards 2050. Based on conservative assumptions, a market volume of 1000 units is expected, which corresponds to approximately 15 PJ. These developments will place Danish suppliers in a leading role in an international context and accordingly create the basis for considerable increases in export.