A dose of innovation: recovering waste heat in a pharmaceutical plant

Scientist in a lab
Photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash

Biopharmaceutical firm Evotec wants to hit net-zero emissions by 2045, and it’s already making headway thanks to heat pumps.  

Evotec has got together with heat pump company Armstrong International to start decarbonising their use of heat.  

Natural gas had long been the standard for producing hot water and thermal energy on-site. But what if the heat already being generated – often considered waste – could be captured and reused? 

Armstrong International carried out a detailed thermal assessment of the site in Verona, Italy.   

Working closely with Evotec’s in-house teams, the engineers identified an exciting opportunity: to tap into the energy already circulating in the plant’s cooling system and put it to better use. 

How? By installing an industrial heat pump that could recover waste heat and turn it into a reliable source of renewable thermal energy.  

By doing so, Evotec could reduce its reliance on natural gas while improving energy efficiency. 

Since the installation of the new heat pump system delivered by Armstrong the site is saving an estimated 1,604 tonnes of CO₂ emissions and avoiding the use of 760,000 cubic metres of natural gas every year. 

What’s more, through Italy’s ‘white certificate’ support scheme, the project is expected to deliver annual energy savings worth around €89,000, reinforcing the idea that sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand.

Find more details here. Read more about waste heat recovery in our other heat pump stories.

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