Methods for the Economically and Environmentally Optimized Integration of Renewable Energy and Heat Recovery Concepts into Industrial Processes and Facilities

The industry is looking for ways to rapidly and cost-effectively decarbonize process heat, but there is a lack of simple, holistic methods. The “DekarbBeschleuniger” project fills this gap: It is investigating a comprehensive “toolbox” for the economically and environmentally optimized integration of renewable energy and heat recovery into industrial processes. The added value: Companies will be able to use this toolbox to plan their transition to climate neutrality with minimal effort and at low cost, reduce CO₂ emissions in a timely manner, and gain a competitive edge.

Initial Situation

Today, a large portion of electricity is already generated from renewable energy sources, making it comparatively well decarbonized. In heat generation, however, there remains a significant need for action: Industry must decarbonize approximately 170 TWh of process heat annually. The problem: There is a lack of simple, end-to-end methods for holistic planning. Existing tools are fragmented and often too complex, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the potential of heat recovery has not yet been sufficiently tapped, while fluctuating renewable energy sources significantly increase system complexity. In addition, the high effort required for data collection hinders early planning phases. This project is necessary to significantly reduce this burden and facilitate investment decisions. To enable users to achieve climate neutrality quickly and cost-effectively, they need easy-to-use, cost-effective, and validated methods for developing cost-optimized transformation pathways.

Objective

The goal of the project is to create a “toolbox” for the decarbonization of new and existing industrial processes. The aim is to develop economically optimized concepts for achieving climate neutrality with minimal effort. Optimization takes place on three levels: individual process, overall process, and supply level. The goal is to create an integrated software toolchain consisting of various modules that can also be used independently of one another. The method will be validated at real-world industrial sites. Specific outcomes include a reduction in planning effort and costs, a decrease in final energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, the minimization of investment and operating costs, and the accelerated, widespread implementation of new decarbonization technologies in industry.

Approach

The project focuses on the modular development and integration of a software toolchain and a mobile rapid-calculation tool. The work includes AI-supported data collection, load profile forecasts, pinch analyses, and cost-optimized modeling of transformation pathways. AI models, dynamic simulations, stochastic optimization methods, and MILP-based models are used for this purpose. Fraunhofer ISE is leading the project, evaluating pinch analysis tools, and further developing methods for concept optimization. This also includes stochastic optimization approaches to account for price uncertainties. In addition, ISE is developing a measurement concept and organizing the transfer of knowledge into practice. In this way, the institute ensures both the scientific soundness and the practical applicability of the project results.

The “DekarbBeschleuniger” project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).