Industrial heat pumps: Generate heat from cold & replace gas
The heat transition in industry and commerce is unstoppable. Fossil fuels are becoming a cost risk, while waste heat often goes unused. cold.world ENGINEERING turns the tables: we integrate powerful large heat pumps into your processes that either use environmental energy or turn your refrigeration systems into heating systems. This allows you to reduce your CO2 footprint and your energy costs at the same time.
High-temperature heat pumps with natural refrigerants
A common misconception is that heat pumps can only supply low temperatures for underfloor heating. This is wrong. By using natural refrigerants, we achieve flow temperatures that are also suitable for industrial processes and existing buildings.
- Ammonia (NH3): Ideal for large heat pumps in the megawatt range. Highly efficient at flow temperatures up to approx. 90°C.
- CO2 (R744): Unbeatable for water heating or processes with large temperature spreads.
- Propane (R290) & isobutane (R600a): Enable flow temperatures of over 80°C to 90°C as high-temperature heat pumps – ideal replacement for gas boilers.
The principle: heating and cooling in one step
1. refrigeration system as heat source:
Instead of blowing the heat from your cold stores or processes unused into the air via recoolers, a heat pump raises this temperature level.
2. combined benefit:
They generate cooling for production and heat for heating/cleaning with one energy input (dual use). The COP (efficiency) of the overall system increases massively.
3. independence from Fossil:
Every kWh supplied by the heat pump no longer has to be generated by the gas boiler.
Areas of application for our heat pump solutions
We do not plan solutions for single-family homes, but robust systems for industry, commerce and municipalities:
- Process heat: Provision of washing water, drying processes or boiler feed water preheating.
- Logistics & administration: Heating of office buildings and warehouses (often in combination with concrete core activation).
- District heating & local heating: feeding large heat pumps into local heating networks (e.g. river water heat pumps).
- Food industry: Slaughterhouses and dairies need a lot of cold and a lot of hot water (60°C+) for cleaning at the same time. Here, the heat pump is unrivaled in terms of efficiency.
Frequently asked questions about large heat pumps
Are there subsidies for industrial heat pumps? Yes, and considerably so. The state often promotes the decarbonization of process heat (e.g. via the Federal Funding for Energy and Resource Efficiency in the Economy – EEW) with high percentage subsidies. We support you in identifying this potential.
Can a heat pump replace my steam boiler? Up to certain temperature limits (approx. 100°C – 120°C with special systems) yes. However, a hybrid solution often makes sense: the heat pump takes over the base load and pre-heating, the boiler only takes over the peak load. This saves a massive amount of gas.