Imagine using the leftover heat from a factory's machines or the sun's warmth to create ice-cold refrigeration. Instead of using expensive electricity, these systems act like a heat-powered air conditioner for heavy industry. It turns waste that usually disappears into the air into a valuable resource for cooling products.
Industries waste massive amounts of low-grade heat while paying high electricity bills for cooling. Current cooling systems are often expensive and energy-inefficient.
Three cooling technologies: a patented adsorption chiller, a hybrid absorption heat pump, and a double-temperature absorption chiller, plus high-vacuum solar collectors.
If you are a food processor dealing with high energy costs for refrigeration—this project developed adsorption and absorption chillers that use waste heat to provide cooling. This reduces reliance on the electrical grid and lowers operational costs.
If you are a biofuel producer dealing with excess thermal energy—this project developed a hybrid absorption heat pump that provides both cooling and heating. This allows one system to meet two different industrial process needs simultaneously.
If you are a paper mill dealing with inefficient heating and cooling cycles—this project developed a double-temperature absorption chiller. This provides cooling at two different temperature levels to optimize various stages of production.
The project aims to deliver cost-competitive solutions by using low-grade waste heat and solar energy instead of electricity for cooling. Based on available project data, the goal is to make these technologies simpler and cheaper to implement.
Yes, the project is implementing the technologies in 4 different demo sites across diverse industrial processes. It also includes a replication analysis to see how it fits into industrial parks and district heating networks.
The project utilizes a new patented design for the adsorption chiller unit to lower costs. Based on available project data, the goal is to bring these solutions to market by 2029.
Integration is managed via a BIM approach and digital twins of the demo sites. A cloud platform is also used for monitoring and control systems.
The project runs from 2024 to 2027, with the objective to bring the solutions to the market by 2029.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with a 56% industry ratio, comprising 15 industrial partners including 11 SMEs. This strong commercial presence, combined with 5 universities and 6 research centers across 10 countries, suggests a high focus on commercial viability and rapid technology transfer rather than pure academic research.
Contact the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) in Italy
Contact us to connect with the RE-WITCH consortium for early adoption of heat-to-cold technologies.
