A Cambridge startup is building a compact heat pump that recycles waste heat to generate steam for food processing at half the cost of a conventional fossil-fuel boiler, while eliminating the associated carbon emissions. Current steam systems rely on large, centralised boilers that require expensive custom piping and heat exchangers to connect multiple production lines—integration costs can equal the heat pump’s purchase price. This makes low-carbon steam uneconomical for the small-to-medium-scale operations typical of the food and drink sector. Mechapres’s solution is a modular, plug-and-play unit that sits directly at a single processing line, cutting engineering complexity and heat losses. If successful, the project will produce three standardised retrofit designs for common applications such as sterilisation, cooking, and pasteurisation. The National Centre for Food Manufacturing will assess how easily the system can be replicated across Eastern England. Widespread adoption could lower energy bills and scope 1 CO2 emissions for hundreds of food factories, without requiring them to redesign their entire plant.
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This project aims to develop novel equipment to reduce steam production costs and emissions in food processing, essential for sterilization, cooking, pasteurization, drying, and more. Mechapres is a Cambridge-based startup, developing a patented compact steam-generating heat pump with integrated thermal storage for Food & Drink manufacturing. This system recycles waste heat to produce steam at 50% lower cost than conventional fossil-fuel boilers, while completely abating scope 1 CO2 emissions. Current solutions rely on large centralised units connecting different processing lines. Integration costs (e.g. heat exchangers, piping) can reach 100% of Heat Pump CapEx. This hinders the viability of small to medium-scale systems typical of Food&Drink. Instead of large, custom-built centralized systems connecting multiple processes, modular, decentralized small-scale units with standardized components integrated at single processing lines are more cost-effective. Less engineering complexity, less piping, lower losses. Mechapres is working toward this, creating a compact steam-generating heat pump. This project will enable Mechapres to adapt existing prototype components and develop new ones, creating 3 modular plug-and-play retrofit integrations for common food processing applications in Eastern England. The National Centre for Food Manufacturing will provide guidance and support in assessing the solution's replicability across Eastern England. Tastebuds Collective a leading Food & Drink trade organisation, based in Norfolk, will support the dissemination activities.
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