Heat Pump to Decarbonize Industrial Steam

To substantially reduce carbon emissions in the U.S., industrial process steam needs to be decarbonized. Over 25% of all on-site energy consumption in the U.S. manufacturing sector is used to generate steam (nearly 4 quads per year). Electrification of industrial steam production can help to decarbonize the sector, but there remains a need to develop an economically viable solution which can compete with existing technologies. The AtmosZero-led team proposes to decarbonize industrial steam by developing a cost-effective, high-efficiency heat pump to deliver 150°C steam with a COP of 2. By targeting steam at this 4.5 bar, 50% of industrial steam which is currently underserved by decarbonized technology can be met. Preliminary techno-economic analysis results indicate that the system will be cost-competitive with natural gas boilers in today’s market, with clear pathways towards reduced steam costs by capitalizing on the declining costs of zero-carbon electricity sources.