Renewable Thermal Energy Systems Designed for Industrial Process Solutions in Multiple Industries - Solar World Congress (SWC) 2021 - Paper Presentation

Oct 29, 2026

Renewable thermal energy systems for industrial process heat are analyzed to support low- to medium-temperature demand below 300°C, with emphasis on reducing deployment costs. The work presents a hybrid RTES framework and newly developed code modules for techno-economic analysis. Two detailed modeled case studies are evaluated: a standalone high-temperature heat pump (HTHP) system for district heating up to 90°C, and RTES for food and beverage processing up to 270°C, followed by discussion and future work.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Introduction

Case Study 1: Standalone HTHP System for District Heating up to 90° C

Case Study 2: RTES in Food / Beverage Processing up to 270°C

Discussion & Future Work

Renewable Thermal Energy Systems Designed for Industrial Process Solutions in Multiple Industries Sertaҫ Akar, Parthiv Kurup, Scott Belding, Josh McTigue, Jordan Cox, Colin McMillan, Matt Boyd and Travis Lowder Solar World Congress (SWC) 2021, Virtual Conference V2, October 25-29, 2021 Content 1 Background 2 Introduction 3 Case Study 1: Standalone HTHP System for District Heating up to 90° C 4 Case Study 2: RTES in Food / Beverage Processing up to 270°C 5 Discussion & Future Work NREL | 2 1. Background • Global industrial heating applications, the majority being process heat related, have been estimated to be approximately 20% of the total global energy consumed (IRENA, 2019) . • Recent work from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) indicate that nearly 2/3 of the industrial thermal demand in 2014 in the United States is less than 300 °C, which is ideally suited to solar and renewable heat systems (McMillan et al., 2021) . • Renewable thermal energy systems (RTES), either in stand-alone or hybrid configurations hold good potential to provide low to medium temperature heat less than 300°C (Akar et al., 2021), with the need for costs to decrease to increase deployment. Two areas examined in this paper were food/beverage processing and district heating. (IRENA 2019) -[https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2019/Sep/IRENA_Power-to](https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2019/Sep/IRENA_Power-to)heat 2019. pdf?la=en&hash=524C1BFD59EC03FD44508F8D7CFB84CEC317A299 (McMillan et al., 2021) -[https://www. nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77760.pdf](https://www. nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77760.pdf) (Akar et al. 2021) -[https://www. nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/79675.pdf](https://www. nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/79675.pdf) NREL | 3 2. Introduction • This paper highlights the application of the hybrid RTES framework and newly developed code modules for specific case studies. • The models and results explore the techno-economic analysis (TEA) s and potential of stand-alone and hybrid RTES applied to a potential food processing and district heating and food processing applications. Two main case studies are explored in detail. • This paper builds work upon work and the opportunities identified for SIPH in the U.S.(McMillan et al., 2021), and looks to focus it on specific industries of interest and high economic potential. MODELED RTES CASES High Temperature Heat Pump (HTHP) System for District Heating Linear Fresnel collectors (LFCs) coupled with phase change material (PCM) thermal energy storage (TES) for Food & Beverage Industry 3. High Temperature Heat Pump (HTHP) System for District Heating Heat Pump System for District Heating • In heat pump-driven district heating systems, the most common sources of heat are sewage water, ambient water, and industrial waste heat which can deliver hot water between 60° C and 90° C. • Most operating heat pump-driven district heating systems in Europe use either R134a or ammonia as refrigerants . • Heat Pumps would perform district heating functions using common heat sources and in combination with solar technologies . Source: Arpagaus 2020. “Industrial Heat Pumps in Switzerland.” SFOE Capital Costs & Operating Temperatures for Heat Pumps Capital costs and operating temperature ranges for heat pumps . | Case | Source Heat Temperature | Capital
Cost | Output Temperatures | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Ambient Water – Low Cost | 5°C | $150/kW | 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C | | Ambient Water – High Cost | | $300/kW | | | Sewage – Low Cost | 20°C | $150/kW | | | Sewage – High Cost | | $300/kW | | | Solar Flat Plate – Low Cost | 35°C | $700/kW | | | Solar Flat Plate – High Cost | | $850/kW | | • Inputs • Three different source heat temperatures • High and low capital cost scenarios for each source • Five different output temperatures Coefficient of Performance (COP) for Heat Pumps Res

FAQs

What temperature range does the paper target for renewable thermal energy systems?

The paper focuses on low- to medium-temperature heat applications, specifically less than 300°C, which is described as suitable for solar and renewable heat systems.

Which two industrial applications are examined in the case studies?

The paper examines district heating using a standalone HTHP approach up to 90°C, and food/beverage processing using RTES up to 270°C.

How does temperature lift affect heat pump performance in the results?

The system coefficient of performance (COP) is inversely related to the magnitude of temperature lift, meaning smaller lifts yield higher COP values.

Oct 29, 2026

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