Sorption Heat-pump Component Boosting Energy-efficiency in Gas-fired Boilers

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Swedish award-winning cleantech company and leading supplier of sorption heat-pump components ClimateWell has recently made a technology breakthrough: A new, salt-liquid working couple that both raises the energy efficiency in gas-fired boilers and increases the temperature lift, making it possible to heat pump outside ambient air (as its renewable energy source) down to -20°C. This enables retrofitting in houses with old, high temperature radiators, while achieving a Seasonal COP (SCOP) of over 130%. The solution can easily be combined with solar thermal collectors to achieve a SCOP of up to 170%. Working already with major OEMs like GE and Alfa Laval in other applications, ClimateWell is targeting the European gas boiler OEMs such as Vaillant, BDR and Ariston to develop a Gas Heat Pump (GHP) product in which ClimateWell’s HeatBoost component is integrated. It potentially saves more than 33% of the natural gas consumption (500 EUR per year) for a typical European household using a condensing gas boiler today. The cost premium can be paid off in less than 4 years, making it an attractive investment for the end-user. While the target market for domestic space heating in Europe is huge with an installed base of 90 million boilers and over 8 million sold every year, the potential environmental impact is even bigger with a total reduction of CO2 footprint of 61.5 million tonnes/year. In this 6-month Feasibility Study, ClimateWell will verify the technical and commercial feasibility of integrating ClimateWell’s new sorption component into a gas boiler system. The goal is to establish collaboration with leading European boiler manufacturers for the continued development of a GHP product and apply for funding of a Phase 2 project. A successful outcome of the project means that once the GHP product has been commercialised in 3-5 years, ClimateWell’s potential revenue for providing some 2 million HeatBoost components per year to boiler manufacturers is 1 billion EUR.