Sustainable PrOcess heaTing (SPOT)

The Dutch industry is a major consumer of energy for heating with a total heat demand in 2017 of 560 PJ/year (including the refining sector). While the electricity system is rapidly becoming more sustainable with 14% of all electricity use in 2017 originating from a sustainable source in the Netherlands, the heat system is lagging with only 5.9% in 2017. A transition to a sustainable energy system depends on forming a CO2 free industrial heat system. The overall objective of this SPOT project is to start an innovation program on Industrial Heat Technology in order to achieve a coherent and consistent program that leads to significant reduction of the use of fossil energy carriers in industry. The goal is to reduce fossil energy use for industrial heat with at least 100 PJ/year in 2030. The associated CO2-emission reduction is estimated at 6 Mton/year. Innovations within this program lead to new products with export potential for technology suppliers.

Within this project TNO(ECN) and TUE are collaborating to determine which chain of technologies will provide industry with the most effective way of producing high-temperature heat that eventually originates from renewable electricity. The assessment, that may differ per application, is established based on cycle efficiency, costs (including infrastructure), and impact on energy system. The results will enable industry to make informed decisions about which carbon-free fuel and associated technologies suits their needs best.

The innovation lies in providing new options for high-temperature heat delivery based on a renewable fuel that can be supplied in a continuous way to an industrial process. The work carried out in this project will provide guidelines for the most effective option for industry and the Netherlands energy system. Based on this, an innovation roadmap will be constructed that defines the R&D required to fulfil the needs for specific technologies.

People involved:
- Prof. Herbert Zondag (TUE and TNO)
- Dr. Giulia Finotello (TUE), contact person for the project G.Finotello@tue.nl
- Shahla Huseynova: PDEng candidate (TUE)