Thursday, April 06, 2023

In a first, IEA-lauded, industrial-scale heat pump coming to Massachusetts



Rather than rely on natural gas for heat, heat pumps -- which transfer heat from one place to another -- are emerging as a tool in the pursuit of a net-zero economy. 
Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI | 


April 5 (UPI) -- U.S. based Vicinity Energy said it was teaming up with Germany's MAN Energy Solutions to build what it believes will be the largest industrial-scale heat pump in the country, a pump that will help lower emissions from heating.

Vicinity said the facility will be built at its Kendall Station power facility in Cambridge, Mass. It will be powered by renewable energy derived from the nearby Charles River to create steam.

Bill DiCroce, president and CEO of Vicinity Energy, said the company has made strides in other areas and the partnership with MAN means it can do more, from harvesting the power of rivers to working to address climate change.

"Vicinity's first heat pump complex in Cambridge, which draws from proven examples in Europe, will be the largest in the U.S.," he said.

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The International Energy Agency reported last month that energy-related emissions of CO2, a potent greenhouse gas, increased by 0.9% year-on-year in 2022 to reach a new high of more than 36.8 billion tons. Clean energy -- from renewable energy to heat pumps -- helped prevent some 550 million tons of CO2 from reaching the atmosphere, however.

Heat pumps work by transferring heat rather than burning fuels, making them more environmentally-friendly than a gas furnace.

IEA found that global sales of heat pumps increased by 11% last year, though much of those sales were in Europe. Sales should increase to account for 20% of total heating needs in buildings by 2030 to keep climate goals within reach.


"The heating sector accounts for 30-40% of global CO2 emissions," said Uwe Lauber, the top official at MAN Energy Solutions. "The global energy transition cannot succeed without decarbonizing heat."

Vicinity aims to have the industrial scale pump system installed by 2026.

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