Process WP

Providing process heat remains one of the major challenges for the decarbonisation of Austrian industry. Although many industrial facilities already use heat exchangers to recover waste heat, a significant share of the available energy potential remains untapped. In particular, low-temperature waste heat is often discharged to the environment, even though it could be upgraded and reused through the application of heat pumps.

In recent years, industrial high-temperature heat pumps have been developed that can now provide temperatures well above 100°C and, in some cases, up to 160°C. These technological advances open up new opportunities for utilizing industrial waste heat and substituting fossil fuels in production processes. At the same time, challenges remain regarding economic viability, process integration, and the provision of high-temperature heat for steam-based applications.

Against this background, the “Prozess-WP” project investigated the technical, economic, and environmental potential of industrial process heat pumps in Austrian industrial and commercial facilities.

Within the project, specific applications for process heat pumps were analysed and evaluated together with Austrian companies. The objective was to identify those industrial processes in which heat pumps can already make a significant contribution to decarbonisation today.

In addition to the technical assessment, the project examined economic feasibility, environmental impacts, and the perspective of potential end users. Interviews were conducted with industrial companies to identify opportunities, challenges, and market barriers and to derive recommendations for policymakers, energy suppliers, research institutions, and industry stakeholders.

Case Studies Across Different Industries

Several case studies were carried out in different industrial sectors:

Company	Sector	Focus Area
SALESIANER Miettex	Industrial laundry	Utilisation of wastewater heat for washing processes
Schloss Eggenberg Brewery	Brewery	Utilisation of waste heat from refrigeration systems
GMS Gourmet	Catering and food services	Utilisation of wastewater heat and hot water generation
Recheis	Food industry	Utilisation of waste heat from drying processes

The analyses demonstrated that applications requiring temperatures up to approximately 70°C are already technically and economically promising. While higher temperatures and steam applications are generally feasible, they currently involve higher costs and more complex system integration.

Austrian-Wide Potential

Based on the case studies, an Austrian-wide potential assessment was conducted. The following technical energy-saving potentials were identified for the investigated applications:

Sector	Potential
Industrial laundries	12 GWh/year
Catering and food services	45 to 50 GWh/year
Breweries	120 to 193 GWh/year

Client / Funding body	Climate and Energy Fund
Project manager	Christoph Kurfürst
Project team	Konstantin Kulterer Christian Praher Karin Hauer Petra Lackner
Project partners	Ochsner Process Energy Systems GmbH steamtec gesmbH
Project duration	December 2023 to May 2026