Paper Technology International 2024 - Journal - Page 135
PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
power of collaboration:
TTheMaking
heat pumps work for the
paper industry
Jori Ringman, Director General, Cepi
INTRODUCTION:
A recent collaboration between associations representing the European paper manufacturing and heat pump sectors, Cepi and
EHPA, has resulted in innovation which could produce energy savings of 50% in paper manufacturing. It could also be key in further
decarbonising one of Europe’s energy-intensive sectors. But EU regulators need to speed up incentives for affordable clean energy.
Heat pumps are enabling energy savings for many industries.
Already today, heat pumps are enabling energy savings for
many industries. They provide about 10% of 昀椀nal industrial energy
demand in Europe, and help to lower industrial emissions across
many sectors. A recent development is that commercially available
large heat pumps and steam compressors can now heat up to 200
°C, meeting the pulp and paper industry’s needs.
The innovation has been encouraged by exchanges
between both industries at European level. A joint working group
between members of the European paper and heat pump industries
calculated potential energy savings in paper drying of more than
50%, and a joint Cepi-EHPA paper detailing how heat pumps could
be integrated into paper mills has now been published and available
on Cepi website.
Photo: Courtesy of SPH Sustainable Process Heat GmbH.
The European paper industry runs about 1,200 paper
machines altogether, each of which produces an average of 80,000
tonnes of paper a year. As part of the production process the
industry generates waste heat from the paper machines’ drying
section. One area of particular impact would be to use it as a source
to heat the condensate coming from the cylinders into steam for
further drying needs.
Decarbonisation through collaborations
The partnership between EHPA and Cepi tells the story
of how collaboration can result in innovation breakthroughs, with
real decarbonisation impacts. This is the purpose of Cepi’s Energy
Ef昀椀ciency Solutions Forum (EESF), hosting the joint working group,
where front-running companies can exchange
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