Futraheat, a London start-up, has joined forces with manufacturing integration specialists Projective to secure £149,000 Phase 1 funding from the BEIS Industrial Fuel Switching Competition.
Greensteam, Futraheat's heat pump technology, enables industrial users to recycle heat and reduce fuel use radically, delivering energy reductions of up to 90%, according to the UK-based company.
The project will also identify potential partners for a potential £1.5mln Phase 2 where, with BEIS support, Futraheat and Projective will be able to deliver two commercial-scale 500kW Greensteam heat pumps for use in an industrial process, with two customers to be confirmed from Phase 1.
Futraheat and Projective hope to secure support for Phase 2 next year from a food and drink manufacturer and a pharmaceutical company, the company said in a statement.
This February, Futraheat received a grant of £500,000 from Innovate UK to support a demonstrator project for its high-temperature heat pump system.
TurboClaw, a new type of patented turbo compressor used by Futraheat's modular Greensteam, offers cost-effective recuperation of low-grade waste heat, a by-product of many industrial processes, and boosts it to 150 centigrade, where it can be successfully reused on site.
"Up to 70% of all industrial energy demand is for heat in sectors including pharmaceutical and food manufacturing. This heat is commonly provided as low-pressure steam, and in many cases it is used once and then released to the atmosphere as a waste stream," said Tom Taylor, chief executive.
"This can deliver CO2 reductions of around 80-90%, rising to 100% if electricity from renewables is used. Even with a switch to electrical power, users can expect fuel cost savings of between 25-40%."
The Surbiton firm has already developed a prototype of 300kW and is working on identifying industrial customers for their 500kW commercial high-temperature Greensteam heat pump.
According to the UK government, industry accounted for 16% of UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, making it the third-largest emitting sector.