SPIRIT
The acronym SPIRIT stands for "Implementation of sustainable heat upgrade technologies for industry". The project consortium consists of 17 partners, including three research institutions (one of which is the DLR). The goal of the EU-funded project is to demonstrate the stable and reliable operation of three fully functional high-temperature heat pumps integrated into a sugar factory, a shrimp processing plant, and a paper mill.
The design and construction of the heat pumps are carried out by three well-known heat pump manufacturers, taking into account the specific process temperatures (139°C, 143°C and 157°C) in each industrial process. The project goal is not only to demonstrate the feasibility of the integration of the heat pump into the production process, but also allowing the production process to be carried on without interruption. Guidelines and recommendations will be developed based on these demonstrations, which can be used for further applications. Additionally, the technology will be presented to a broad audience, achieving a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 8, allowing for unconditional use in future applications.
The SPIRIT project will also improve existing technical solutions to increase the technology's acceptance and market penetration. Furthermore, technical performance will be improved by reducing mechanical losses, increasing the compressor's operating range, reducing heat losses in the lubrication systems, and using zeotropic refrigerants. Moreover, investment and operating costs will be optimized.
Extensive measurement campaigns will be carried out at all three demonstration sites, with three primary objectives. First, operating strategies for high-temperature heat pumps will be developed. Second, results will be used to create a digital twin to analyze possible operating scenarios. And finally, the demonstrators will be thoroughly tested to identify and eliminate even negligible problems. These results will be incorporated into the development of a modular heat pump design.