Developing an excess Heat/Cold (re)use matching platform for industry and end users

16 companies and institutes from across Europe have joined forces as part of the EU-funded project EMB3Rs to add value to waste heat and help make better use of renewable energy sources. A novel tool, to be developed by August 2022, will allow energy-intensive industries and other excess heat and cold sources to explore ways of reusing their excess thermal energy. This will improve their energy performance and contribute to a healthier future for everyone.

Users, like industries that produce waste heat, will provide the essential parameters, such as their location and the available excess thermal energy. The EMB3Rs platform will then autonomously and intuitively assess the feasibility of new business scenarios and identify the technical solutions. End users such as energy communities will be able to determine the costs and benefits of industrial excess heat and cold utilisation routes and define the requirements for implementing the most promising solutions. Matching excess heat providers with end-users will enable win-win partnerships and reduce CO2 emissions.

Seven case-studies will deliver data to create and validate the platform including the re-use of excess heat from a cement producer and a metal casting company, an industrial park and local supermarkets in district heating networks. The project kicked off in September 2019 and will last for three years.

The four key messages of EMB3Rs

–             Easy matching between sources and sinks for residual heat and cold (HC)

–             Exploring of economically viable business cases for the use of excess HC

–             Optimisation of techno-economic parameters of proposed solutions

–             Lower energy costs, improved competitiveness and reduced environmental impacts