Sector Expertise

Every energy-intensive process wastes heat differently, and every process needs a different solution. We focus on three sectors where we've built up real technical expertise: precast concrete, ceramics, and food manufacturing. Here's some of what we've learned about each of them, and where the industry's attention needs to focus.

ONE APPROACH, MANY SECTORS

Precast concrete, ceramics and food manufacturing look like very different industries. Underneath the process, they're often solving the same problem: heat is being generated somewhere on site and lost, while heat is being bought somewhere else on the same site, at cost.

That's why an approach that works in one sector is frequently transferable to another. A thermal storage strategy proven in precast concrete curing can apply just as well to a batch process in food manufacturing. A drying-stage heat pump proven in ceramics can suit any process with a similar temperature and moisture profile, regardless of what's actually being made.

We've built our expertise across these three sectors deliberately, because seeing the same underlying pattern play out in different industries is what lets us move quickly and accurately when we look at a new site, even one outside these three.

Precast Concrete

Every curing cycle has its own loading pattern, heating period and temperature requirement. Understanding that cycle is the starting point for introducing heat pumps in a way that works for production, whether across the whole site or one line at a time.

Ceramics

Ceramics has two different challenges: the fuel used to provide heat and the emissions released by some raw materials during firing. Recovering heat from drying tackles a part of the process where practical changes can be made today.

Food Manufacturing

Refrigeration, chilling, cooking and cleaning are usually considered as separate parts of a food manufacturing site. Looking at the full thermal picture can reveal where heat rejected by one process could meet a demand in another.

Don't see your sector listed? That doesn't mean we can't help.

Waste heat doesn't care what industry you're in, and neither does the engineering that recovers it. If your process generates heat that isn't being reused, get in touch and we'll tell you honestly what's possible on your site.

Speak To Us About Your Site

Heatcatcher - Waste Heat Recovery

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Sussex Innovation Centre, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton