immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Prozesswärme

  • Online tool for climate-neutral industrial processes

    Online tool for climate-neutral industrial processes

    Industry is facing the challenge of converting its processes from fossil fuels to renewable energies. High-temperature heat pumps offer an energy-efficient solution for temperature ranges from 100 to 200°C in particular. They can not only provide process heat, but also generate cooling at the same time, which makes them particularly attractive for many branches of industry.

    Interactive technology map for companies
    In the research project “Identification of industrial heat pumps for process heat”, Fraunhofer ISE has developed an online tool that provides companies with targeted support in selecting the right heat pump technology.

    The tool offers

    • Visualisation of the available heat pump technologies in the temperature range and output
    • Allocation of heat pumps to specific industrial processes (e.g. cleaning, drying, cooling)
    • Interactive retrieval options for process temperatures in various industries
    • Detailed fact sheets on circulation processes, compressor technologies and refrigerants

    A contribution to climate-neutral industry
    The online tool is part of the Fraunhofer research topic “Climate-neutral industry”, which supports companies on their way to a CO₂-neutral energy supply.

    This includes:

    • Optimisation of potential energy savings
    • Utilisation of industrial waste heat
    • Integration of renewable energies (e.g. photovoltaics for in-house power supply)
    • Storage solutions for heating, cooling and electricity

    Special attention is also paid to the treatment of industrial waste water, which not only contains waste heat but often also valuable residual materials such as metals or acids. These can be efficiently recycled using modern recovery technologies.

    Participate and contribute data
    The data pool of the online tool is constantly being expanded. Manufacturers of heat pumps and industrial companies can get in touch with Fraunhofer ISE to integrate their data into the platform and thus drive development forward.

    With this new digital solution, Fraunhofer ISE offers companies an effective tool for decarbonising industrial processes and increasing energy efficiency – a decisive step on the way to climate-neutral production.

  • Synhelion and Cemex produce the first solar concrete

    Synhelion and Cemex produce the first solar concrete

    Synhelion and Mexico’s Cemex , the world’s fifth largest cement producer in 2020, have produced the world’s first solar clinker. As both companies write in a media release of the same name, this “revolutionary innovation” is a “first step towards the development of completely solar-powered cement plants”. dr Gianluca Ambrosetti, CEO and co-founder of Synhelion, is proud to “join with Cemex to demonstrate a concrete, industrially relevant application of our fully renewable high-temperature solar heating”.

    Synhelion emerged from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 2016. The company’s technology aims to replace all types of fossil fuels with solar fuels. According to the information, it converts concentrated heat from the sun into “the hottest process heat available on the market”. Cemex wants to supply CO2-neutral concrete worldwide by 2050. A key part of this strategy is CEMEX Ventures and its research and development center in Brügg BE.

    Research teams from both companies installed a pilot plant on the premises of the Madrid Regional Government’s Imdea Energy Research Institute . There, the solar receiver from Synhelion delivered “record-breaking” temperatures of over 1500 degrees with concentrated sunlight. A gaseous heat transfer medium is thus heated. This provided the heat needed to melt limestone, clay, and other materials together.

    The clinker obtained in this way was used to manufacture cement and then processed into concrete. In the next phase of their joint research and development project, Synhelion and Cemex intend to work towards an industrial-scale pilot plant.