Engineers have developed a revolutionary method that uses heat pipes, a 50-year-old thermal transfer principle, to reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions in energy-intensive industries. Heat exchangers have been successfully installed in steel, ceramics, and aluminium production plants throughout Europe. They recover waste heat from exhaust streams to preheat air or water for industrial processes.
The heat exchanger plays a crucial role in steel production, recovering 47% of the furnace’s energy consumption and resulting in significant CO2 reductions. This technology also benefits ceramics and aluminium casting, where recovered heat drives essential processes, improving energy efficiency and competitiveness. Despite facing challenges such as corrosive gases and high temperatures, prototypes have exceeded expectations, indicating the potential for widespread adoption.
These heat pipe heat exchangers can save up to 40% of energy, making them an important step towards achieving carbon neutrality in energy-intensive sectors by 2050, in line with COP21 objectives. The ETEKINA project was completed in 2022, but development was continued in the iWAYs project.
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