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Half of the process heat can be saved

20.09.2024

Energy efficiency should also be given priority in the power plant strategy and grid expansion. This would benefit both companies and climate protection.

Politicians are "not giving enough thought to where energy can be saved", said Christian Noll, Managing Director of the German Business Initiative for Energy Efficiency (Deneff )on September 18. Germany is still not exploiting its efficiency potential. A new short study by the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, carried out on behalf of Deneff, shows that German companies could save up to 21 billion euros a year in energy costs through targeted measures - in the area of process heat alone.
Melting, hardening, baking - the vast majority of companies' energy and CO2 emissions flow into these and similar areas. "In Germany, just as much energy is consumed for industrial heating applications as for heating buildings - and most of it is still fossil-based," explained Noll at the presentation of the study. "It is long overdue for politicians to address this issue strategically. It will certainly be one of the defining economic issues for the next legislative period."

Recycling waste heat

The results of the study show that, on average, half of the process heat currently used in industry could be saved economically. In figures: around 226 of approximately 680 billion kWh could be saved annually. Professor Jörg Meyer, one of the authors of the study, emphasizes: "This corresponds to one third of the total industrial energy demand in Germany." The possible potential and measures differ depending on the industry and temperature level.
According to the study, heat recovery, better control and the exact determination of the required temperature play a major role. In areas where temperatures of up to 200 degrees are required, waste heat can be recycled directly in industrial heat pumps, saving as much as 80 percent on energy purchases. Electrification can also help to directly utilize renewable energies in the field of industrial heating - up to high temperature ranges. Overall, however, the greatest potential lies in the "lower temperature ranges" for process heat. Heat pumps in particular could have a particularly large leverage effect here, as only around a quarter of the heat required needs to be used as electricity.

Staff shortages and poor predictability hamper the

The study shows that saving energy already pays off today: the majority of the economic savings potential consists of measures that offer an attractive return on investment and pay for themselves within a few years. Nevertheless, too many companies do not implement energy efficiency measures. The two most common reasons are a lack of personnel and uncertainties regarding price trends, which entrepreneurs repeatedly cite, said Meyer when asked by the editorial team.
In summary, energy efficiency measures repeatedly fail due to a lack of knowledge of suitable measures, financing options, prioritization within the company, short-term return expectations, uncertainties regarding the development of energy price components and often simply due to the availability of sufficiently large electricity grid connections.
Deneff is therefore calling on the German government to draw up a strategy for the energy-efficient decarbonization of process heat. In addition to a stable funding framework, energy efficiency must also be given priority in the power plant strategy and grid expansion. Existing regulations such as the Energy Efficiency Act must be implemented consistently.

Read the short study "Energy-efficient and CO2-free process heat" here (PDF document)

Key points of the short study:

  • Efficiency as the key to the heat transition in industry: half of the process heat can be saved economically, in low temperature ranges even more than 80 percent (e.g. through the use of industrial heat pumps).
  • Opportunity for companies in Germany: 21 billion euros could be saved annually in Germany in energy costs for the provision of process heat.
  • Saving energy is already paying off: 63 percent of economic energy saving potentials are measures with an attractive return on investment that pay for themselves within three years.

 

Author: Heidi Roider
Source: Energy & Management Powernews