Join daily news updates from CleanTechnica on e mail. Or follow us on Google News!
The 29,000-square-foot venture was assisted by a grant from the U.S. Division of Power’s Protection Manufacturing Act Program
Main efforts are underway to advance America’s vitality transition and transfer away from fossil fuels. That is very true within the industrial sector, which accounts for greater than one-third of all vitality utilized in america. In response to the American Clean Power Association (ACP)over 160 new manufacturing services or expansions have been introduced within the U.S. since August 2022. These initiatives complete an funding of greater than $500 billion in utility-scale clear vitality manufacturing.
Whereas a lot of America’s vitality transition is concentrated on initiatives powered by clear vitality and renewables, there’s a necessity to deal with the elephant within the room: vitality waste. In 2017, a New York Times report discovered that the U.S. wastes an astonishing 66% of its vitality.
Between 20% and 50% of commercial thermal vitality enter is misplaced via stacks, cooling towers and sewage within the type of sizzling exhaust gases, cooling water, and warmth escaping from gear surfaces and heated merchandise. In mild manufacturing services alone (corresponding to meals, prescription drugs, paper, and private care merchandise), 50% to 80% of the first vitality enter leaves the plant as waste warmth at medium (<400°F/200°C) and even low temperatures (<200°F/<90°C).
This leaves solely a fraction of vitality enter that can be utilized for manufacturing the product, which is very regarding because the U.S. continues to extend reliance on clear vitality options with restricted and intermittent availability. Failing to deal with the numerous quantity of vitality wasted in mild trade is each expensive and diverts treasured renewable sources from different areas of society the place it’s wanted. One U.S. firm is altering the way in which the American industrials take into consideration vitality waste—world thermal utility options supplier Armstrong International. As specialists in vitality effectivity, the 125-year-old firm asserts it holds the important thing to advancing America’s decarbonization efforts for mild trade.
“If most of the energy being pulled from the grid is wasted, not only will energy prices soar but there simply won’t be enough energy to go around,” stated Kurt Armstrong, Chief Govt Officer of Armstrong Worldwide. “We have to tackle energy waste before we can ever fully transition to a net-zero future and that means recovering much of the low-grade waste heat that escapes today’s light manufacturing and industrial plants.”
What’s the answer? In response to the primary legislation of thermal dynamics, vitality can neither be created nor destroyed, solely transformed from one type to a different or moved from place to position. So if waste warmth may very well be reclaimed and harnessed, it may very well be put to make use of as a beneficial vitality useful resource—and that’s precisely what Armstrong is doing. As a substitute of releasing waste warmth into the environment, Armstrong applies its Round Thermal® methodology to seize the waste warmth inside a plant and recirculate it again into manufacturing. This course of might help a plant scale back its main vitality demand by greater than 80% and lower CO2 emissions by as a lot as 50%.
On the coronary heart of the Round Thermal® resolution lies the warmth pump, a know-how just like that present in fridges and air conditioners. Primarily, warmth pumps extract warmth from a supply, corresponding to warmth escaping from a manufacturing unit, after which enhance the temperature to a helpful degree earlier than transferring it to wherever it’s wanted. As soon as all out there waste warmth from course of and cooling is recovered, warmth pumps can even use shallow geothermal or water from rivers, lakes, and even sewage, as warmth sources. Though the COP of such techniques is decrease than for course of or cooling waste warmth functions (because of decrease temperature warmth supply), warmth pumps devour solely half {the electrical} energy of a easy electrical steam boiler, sizzling water generator or course of heater. Nonetheless, the supply of high-temperature industrial warmth pumps stays restricted in America, which is why Armstrong lately broke floor on a 29,000-square-foot industrial warmth pump manufacturing wing at its campus in Three Rivers, Michigan. Assisted by a grant from the U.S. Division of Power’s (DOE) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC), which administers the DOE’s Protection Manufacturing Act applications, the brand new facility will considerably bolster Armstrong’s capability to supply specialised industrial warmth pumps for high-demand functions exceeding 100kW of warmth and temperatures above 180°F/82°C. Instrumental in selling vitality effectivity and sustainability, Armstrong’s industrial warmth pumps will probably be elementary in supporting the transition to scrub vitality for mild industries.
“American manufacturing sits at the nexus of our economic and national security,” famous MESC Director Giulia Siccardo. “These investments are critical to scaling heat pump production, driving down cost, and expanding access to energy efficient heating and cooling technology, reducing strain on our grid and on consumer pocketbooks.”
“We are truly honored to have been selected for this grant, and we view it as a validation of our commitment to innovation and offering sustainable solutions to the highly technical issues companies face when implementing their decarbonization strategies,” stated Armstrong. “The DOE funds will play a crucial role in expediting the production and adoption of our high-temperature industrial heat pumps in the United States, as well as our Circular Thermal® approach to decarbonization.”
Armstrong, together with eight different initiatives, had been in the end selected as recipients within the first spherical of the DOE funding to spice up manufacturing of electrical warmth pump (air-to-air, geothermal, and air-to-water) and key elements (compressors and refrigerants) at 14 websites in 13 states throughout the nation.
As firms more and more announce net-zero pledges, many are beneath stress to ship outcomes. Armstrong maintains that its electrical warmth pumps are an answer to thermal decarbonization challenges dealing with industries. The corporate is not any stranger to this area. In reality, Armstrong Worldwide and its accomplice Combitherm, a famend family-owned producer of refrigeration techniques and warmth pumps, have greater than 100 high-temperature industrial warmth pumps in operation around the globe.
“This expansion marks a significant milestone for Armstrong International in our growth as a global leader in advancing thermal decarbonization solutions,” Armstrong added. “It underscores our commitment to driving sustainable, technical solutions within the industrial sector, aimed at improving energy efficiency and assisting in the global energy transition. Consuming fossil fuel will no longer be an option for companies willing to decarbonize thermal generation, so recovering their waste heat becomes a must.”
For extra data on Armstrong Worldwide, go to www.ArmstrongInternational.com.
For extra data on DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC)’s work to spice up warmth pump and warmth pump element manufacturing, go to Defense Production Act Heat Pump Program Selections | Department of Energy.
Chip in just a few {dollars} a month to help support independent cleantech coverage that helps to speed up the cleantech revolution!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Wish to promote? Wish to recommend a visitor for our CleanTech Speak podcast? Contact us here.
Join our day by day e-newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or join our weekly one if day by day is just too frequent.
CleanTechnica makes use of affiliate hyperlinks. See our coverage here.
CleanTechnica’s Comment Policy
