The CE HEAT project - funded by the Interreg Central Europe programme - fosters the reuse of waste heat from industrial processes and ensures that European homes and businesses become more energy efficient and greener. An online tool was developed that lets investors and policy makers conduct pre-feasibility studies on potential waste heat projects.
Recycling industrial waste heat for a greener Europe thanks to Interreg
- 14 October 2021
Waste heat recovery is a great opportunity to help the EU achieve its strong strategic prerogative for a greener, carbon neutral and circular development of the region.
The CE HEAT website has a waste heat map for several central European regions, to help identify potentially interesting projects. A waste heat utilisation toolbox includes a calculator which allows investors to estimate if their project is feasible within specified financial and technical limits.
There are also guidelines on how to develop a waste heat cadastre. The platform has resulted in several inquiries for collaboration on waste heat initiatives. During the project, waste heat utilisation plans were developed for all the partner regions.
Covering the whole value chain
The nine consortium partners from the seven countries aimed to streamline the implementation of waste heat projects by covering the entire chain of competences, from energy technologies and planning, business model development to monitoring and evaluation.
They ensured that the knowledge and tools developed during the project were disseminated in areas such as policy making and academia.
Untapped potential
In energy-intensive industries such as cement factories, steel-making and manufacturing, energy represents about 20 % or more of total production costs. According to the project website, between 20 %-50 % of industrial energy consumption is ultimately discharged as waste heat, and 18%-30% of this could be used.
EU legislation, in the form of the Renewable Energy Directive and Energy Efficiency Directive, encourages Member States to increase efforts to utilise waste heat.
Examples of successful projects include a wafer factory in Vienna, Austria, where hot air from the ovens provides heating and hot water for 600 households, and cooling processes within the company. The company cooperated with the grid operator to set the project up in 10 months. It was commissioned in 2016 and saves 1 000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
In Maribor, Slovenia, heat from a hydroelectric plant provides warmth for the facility’s offices and nearby households. Commissioned in 2002, the solution increased power plant’s overall efficiency by 1% and reduces energy consumption.
Obstacles to be overcome
Difficulties facing projects where waste heat is supplied to an external party, for example by a factory to a residential area, is matching waste heat supply to demand. The most economically feasible use of waste heat is near the heat source. Producing electricity from waste heat is still hampered by the low efficiency of available technology.
The project partners are continuing to develop new ideas and form new consortiums in the next EU funding period.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Comprehensive model of waste heat utilization in CE regions” is EUR 1 972 032, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 635 199 through the “Interreg Central Europe” Cooperation Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Cooperating on low-carbon strategies in Central Europe”.