Three-quarters of the UK’s low-temperature industrial heat—used to make food, chemicals, and metal products—still comes from burning fossil fuels. That heat accounts for over 30% of all industrial energy use, yet switching entirely to zero-carbon electricity or renewable heat is not feasible in the short term. This project aims to bridge that gap by making industrial heat far more efficient and reusable. The researchers will improve components for heat recovery, storage, upgrading, and high-temperature heat pumping, and develop ways to transport heat with minimal loss. They will also build new computer models to predict how these technologies can work together across energy systems, and test a trading platform that lets factories sell excess heat to nearby buildings. A case study at a chemical plant in Hull will calculate the actual greenhouse gas reductions and cost savings from individual technologies, integrated heating networks, and full multi-vector systems. If successful, this work provides a no-regrets route through the transition: factories cut emissions and generate revenue now, without waiting for a fully decarbonised grid. The approach could be replicated across food, pharmaceuticals, printing, and textiles—sectors that together consume a large share of industrial energy but have few immediate low-carbon alternatives.
View original technical description
The provision of low temperature industrial process heat in 2018 was responsible for over 30% of total industrial primary energy use in the UK. The majority of this, 75%, was produced by burning oil, gas and coal. Low temperature process heat is a major component of energy use in many industrial sectors including food and drink, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, manufacture of metal products and machinery, printing, and textiles. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with low temperature process heat generation and meet UK targets, in the long term, will require a transition to zero carbon electricity, fuels or renewable heat. In the short term this is not feasible. We propose an approach in which heat is more effectively used within the industrial process, and/or exported to meet heat demands in the neighbouring area allowing significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions per unit industrial production to be achieved and potentially provide an additional revenue source. We are going to perform a programme of research that will help provide a no regrets route through the transition to eventual full decarbonisation. The research consists of, i) fundamental and applied research to cost effectively improve components and systems performance for improved heat recovery, heat storage, heat upgrading, high temperature heat pumping and transporting heat with low loss, and ii) develop new temporal modelling approaches to predict how these technologies can be effectively integrated to utilise heat across a multi-vector energy system and evaluate a transactive modelling platform to address the complexity of how heat can be reutilised economically within energy systems. A series of case studies analysing the potential greenhouse gas reductions and cost benefits and revenues that may be achieved will be undertaken for selected industrial processes including a chemical production facility in Hull, to assess the benefits of i) individual technologies, ii) when optimally integrated within a heating/cooling network, or iii) when combined in a multi-vector energy system.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know