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The dairy industry needs to decarbonisate heat rapidly and heat pumps are an obvious solution
Ireland is currently the worst in Europe for producing renewable heat with only <10% of our heat coming from renewable sources. However, other countires in Europe have in excess of 60% of their heat coming from renewable energy, so there are proven solutions available. High-temperature heat pumps are one of these proven solutions with decades of operating experience.
Mass-produced industrial heat pumps can supply temperatures up to 130°C which is above the temperature required for most applications at a Dairy facility.
However, even for milk dryers which typicall require >200°C, industrialheat pumps can pre-heat the air to reduce the need for fossil fuels. This makes Dairy an ideal application for industrial heat pumps and unsurprisinly, the International Energy Agency found during a survey that Dairy is already one of the most common applications for industrial heat pumps in Europe.
Considering Dairy is one of the largest consumers of energy in Irish industry, industrial heat pumps could offer a very quick win in reducing Ireland’s carbon footprint within the dairy industry.
Some examples of industrial heat pump applications in the Dairy sector are provided below. We in Astatine are replicating this European success in Ireland by working with some of Ireland’s largest Dairy facilities to install industrial heat pumps. We provide turnkey solutions from intital site assessment to detailed design right through to the project’s operation.
Examples of Heat Pumps in Dairy Production
The benefits of Heat Pumps within the Dairy Industry
- Heat Pump Technology can deliver up to a 100% reduction in onsite fossil fuel usage and CO2 emissions.
- The technology can produce energy savings of up to 65%
- A solution delivered at scale can typically provide 400% efficiency gains compared to a traditional heating system
- Our (Astatine Ltd) experience indicates that sites can expect paybacks for 2 to 3 years
- Projects can be delivered with no upfront costs
Interview with Dr David Connolly, Chief Technology Officer with Astatine
Watch more interviews with Astatine’s Dr David Connolly here:
David Connolly explainer Videos: Heat Pumps
Why is the decarbonising of heat so important?
According to the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland), heat accounts for almost 33% of our energy use and about 25% of our carbon emissions.
Astatine Ltd, along with other major suppliers across the country are committed to deploying one of the most economic and practical ways to meet Ireland’s decarbonisation targets – by the widespread installation of heat pumps across our industries.
This is recognised by Irish policymaking with SEAI recently publishing a National Heat Study which concluded that heat pumps are a key solution for industrial heat less than 200°C and so converting the dairy industry to this technology, quickly and at scale is one of the key solutions to tackle the rising costs and spiralling CO2 emissions.
With the technology now available to deploy solutions quickly and at scale, Astatine Ltd are committed to working with the dairy sector to convert their business to a more efficient, seamless operation, saving the significant costs and dramatically reducing their CO2 emissions.
Watch more interviews with Astatine’s Dr David Connolly here:
David Connolly explainer Videos: Heat Pumps
To find out if a heat pump is suitable for your facility, Contact Us today to arrange a call or site visit.
