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Dutch industrial waste heat in district heating: Waste of effort?

Panel: 3. Matching policies and drivers: Policies and Directives to drive industrial efficiency

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Bert Daniëls, ECN Policy Studies, The Netherlands
Anton Wemmers, ECN Policy Studies, The Netherlands
Wouter Wetzels, ECN Policy Studies, The Netherlands

Abstract

Industrial efficiency does not stop at the boundaries of a factory. Applying industrial waste heat in district heating systems - including heat from electricity generation - is often mentioned as a promising option for energy savings and CO2-emission reduction. Currently, despite a large amount of available waste heat, application of industrial waste heat in the Netherlands is very limited. So, if waste heat is to fulfil an important role in future emissions reductions, there is a major implementation gap to be bridged. But is waste heat indeed as promising as it often looks like?

This paper presents an analysis of potentials and costs for industrial waste heat utilization in the Netherlands, for low temperature application in households, services and greenhouse horticulture. It starts with identifying the availability of waste heat and the demand for heat. To estimate the technical potential, it evaluates the match between supply and demand: heat should be available at the right temperature level, the right moment and the right location. As to provide realistic potentials, the paper makes a comparison with alternatives, both with regard to alternative application of waste heat on the supply side and with regard to alternative sources of heat on the demand side.

It concludes with an assessment of a realistic role of industrial waste heat utilisation in district heating in the medium to long term, and the roles of major alternatives with regard to their performance in terms of energy savings, emissions reductions and costs. As the analysis points out, this realistic potential is rather limited: an estimated 10 to 25 PJ of net energy savings may be realised by the utilisation of 25 to 45 PJ of waste heat in district heating.

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