UP-FLEXH — Innovative High Temperature Heat Pump for Flexible Industrial Heat on Demand

UP-FLEXH develops a FOAK cost effective and reliable high-temperature industrial heat pump (HTHP), based on Stirling cycles and exploiting a non-toxic, inert, zero ozone depletion potential (ODP) and zero global warming potential (GWP) fluid, thus ensuring minimal environmental impact, able to deliver decarbonized heat up to 400°C. Such an integrated system and HTHP will be also able to provide relevant industrial cooling conditions (at temperature bellow 20°C) and recovery of waste heat streams (at temperature bellow 150°C), as well as opportunities for power production via reversible operation of the HTHP. UP-FLEX system also aims at maximizing the overall potential for solar thermal direct integration into the industrial sector developing strategies and control optimization for both low and high temperature solar thermal generation. Indeed, the flexible system can maximize the contribution of inexpensive low temperature solar thermal collectors (<150°C), which can provide the low-grade heat source, as well as high temperature solar thermal collectors (>180°C), which can be used in hybridized mode together with the HTHP to maximize the system flexibility and efficiency, whilst minimizing costs and land footprint.

UP-FLEX also develops a fully integrated flexible energy system, including thermal energy storage exploiting and exploring the use of innovative molten salts mixtures for increased performance, reliability and maximized flexibility of the system. Such integration is also enabled by the design of advanced and purposely optimized compact heat exchangers. The integrated system is built upon inherently modular and easily scalable units ensuring fast installation at the end user site as well as maximized flexibility and adaptability to the specific end user requirements. Additionally, a key focus is set on the exploitation of materials for all key components aimed at minimizing the environmental impact over the full system life cycle.

Thus, UP-FLEXH will contribute to the decarbonization of industrial medium temperature (150-400°C) heat, cooling and potential for flexible power generation, whilst favorizing a broader penetration of renewable sources in the industrial context.

Background

The industrial sector is a major source of wealth, producing about one-quarter of the global gross product. However, industries are also major emitters of CO2 and the industrial sector represents a key challenge towards achieving the global CO2 emission reduction targets. Nowadays, about 22 % of the overall energy demand is heating for the industrial sector, generating about 40 % of the global CO2 emissions. Solutions to decarbonize the industrial sector are deemed. In this context, UP-FLEXH aims at providing enhanced and improved flexible heating technologies and modular thermal energy storage systems with the potential to cover most climate zones of Europe by 2030 and to enable 100% climate-neutral heating by 2050.

Aim and objectives

UP-FLEXH aims to develop and validate a first-of-a-kind (FOAK) integrated energy system to provide flexible industrial heat, as well as cooling and opportunities for power flexibility, maximizing and facilitating the renewable integration within the industrial sector and enhancing the overall efficiency. To achieve that the project will:

• Develop, prototype, and validate at TRL 5 a FOAK, enhanced, reliable and modular high temperature heat pump for integrated flexible industrial heat generation (>180C) applications also providing cooling (<20C) and potential for flexible power generation, and modular TES units with innovative circular and low costs molten salts.

• Develop, adapt and optimize key enabling technologies ensuring maximal performance of the proposed integrated energy system.

• Minimize the environmental impact over the full value chain of the proposed technologies and maximize the flexibility of the thermal energy delivered leading to more socially/stakeholders accepted industrial integrated energy solutions.

• Promote UP-FLEXH solutions across EU a non–EU and facilitate market uptake and path to TRL9 via comprehensive exploitation and standardization roadmaps.

Project partners

1. Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan

2. MG Sustainable

3. ABSOLICON AS

4. Enerin AS

5. Kyoto Group AS

6. RPOW Consulting

Funding is provided within the Clean Energy Transition Partnership 2023 programme by Energimyndigheten (for the Swedish partners) with project number P2024-02844.

Timeframe: December 2024 – November 2027

Researchers