The hottest heat pump in the world Developed by Sintef with colleagues at NTNU and industry partners. Recently, Centef arranged a conference in high heat pumps for the third time.
Five years ago, we nearly convinced the 50 attendees why they should use the heat pump. This time we had to stop recording after 200 people signed up because there was no room for more, says senior researcher Bantel.
He is pleased with the development. Now end users want ultra-heated heat pumps. They depend on carbon monoxide2Prices, not least electricity prices. Record-breaking power makes heat pumps a better storage than ever.
Heat pumps in a home, office, or store don’t have to be very hot. It is the industry that needs additional hot water or process steam. Many companies handle temperatures below 180 degrees, and they can do so using heat pumps developed in Trondheim.
The technology is now widely available, so we can design a 150-degree or five-bar heat pump in the steam process, says Pantel.
Heat pumps have also taken a step from prototypes to commercial products that can live and heat for at least 20 years.
Not just for perfectionists
With energy prices in the last 12 months, the potential is much greater. It no longer takes you to be perfect to invest in such equipment. You are now earning money. At least in the long term, he says.
Suddenly, orders are also coming in from the United States. There, the industry only wanted oil and gas.
Now they suddenly see that they’re at least ten years behind us, because they haven’t worked with heat pumps at all, says Pantel.
He sees energy prices as a huge driver for those working with more climate-friendly solutions, such as heat pumps.
Another motivation is that heat pumps reduce the need for primary energy:
Today we are used to getting enough power from suppliers – we just have to connect to the grid. But if suddenly “everything” is supplied with electricity, then there will be bottlenecks in the power supply. Here, heat pumps can play an important role in the power grid in the future, because, for example, they use waste heat from industry and reduce electricity consumption at the same time.
– Thus an industrial company can cover its energy needs by using less electricity than direct electricity, says a researcher at Centef.
There are not enough people in the industry
Pollution becomes more expensive. Simply put, the supplier industry does not exist to produce as many heat pumps as needed. In Norway alone, there are at least five start-ups that manufacture high-temperature heat pumps. He believes that everyone has the right to life, and everyone can give everything that he produces as quickly as possible.
In other countries, potential customers are not getting the ultra-heat pumps they want.
– Suddenly the market is here. Surprisingly, circumstances changed so quickly. Now we’re talking about integration: How do I install heat pumps in my factory? Pantel explains that no two plants are alike, there are no standard processes, and every integration has to be rebuilt.
The result is that the heat pump industry needs more professionals. At the same time, heat pumps are affected by the same problems as everyone else who needs metals and electronics today: there is a shortage of raw materials, parts and components.
Scandinavia takes precedence
– This is common to all projects at the moment. There is a great deal of uncertainty. Corona virus came first, then the Ukraine war. All of this affects deliveries you didn’t know you needed. Where before there was a two-week application period, says Bantle, now it may be two months or two years.
However, he sees bright prospects for both the Scandinavian industry and for those studying heating and cooling technology at NTNU:
We in Scandinavia have an edge when it comes to heat pumps. We have experience, we have reference facilities we can show work. In Europe, a major change has occurred: we are moving away from dependence on Russian oil and gas. Not only because of the environment, but because of the security of energy supply.
This article was first published in Gemini
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