Ambitious climate goals and initiatives to reduce dependency on fossil fuel boilers are underway in many parts of the world, with leading companies worldwide making sustainability pledges that target the decarbonisation of plants and operations. As a result, the global industrial heat pump market (hardware) is forecast to grow exponentially over the next several years, and in energy-intensive industrial processes, the electrification of heating systems is widely recognised as a necessary step. A new report published by McKinsey values the industrial heat pump market at $4 billion in 2023 and estimates it will reach $21 billion by 2030.
Meeting sustainability targets and integrating industrial heat pump technology into existing facilities will require a simpler solution than the bespoke systems that have typically been built on-site. With the launch of the Vilter VQ95 industrial heat pump, Copeland adds a robust platform of scalable and configurable options to its industrial heating market portfolio. The system leverages Vilter single-screw technology to enable unprecedented simplicity, performance, reliability and flexibility using ammonia (NH3) — a natural refrigerant solution that has low global warming potential (GWP). Because the heat delivered far exceeds the energy consumed, industrial heat pumps greatly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and expand opportunities to utilise renewable energy sources. Copeland’s Vilter VQ95 industrial heat pump system balances these characteristics with a compact footprint while maximising efficiency and minimising total cost of ownership.
Simple: The system is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly to operate and maintain. The unit’s plug-and-play, modular design has fewer moving parts than multi-stage units and can often be serviced without removing the compressor from the system. Selection and configuration are streamlined by Copeland’s web-based software tool, helping users meet their unique specifications.
Exceptional performance: The Vilter VQ95 industrial heat pump has a high coefficient of performance and exceptional high lift capabilities, often eliminating the need for multistage systems, while helping to reduce overall costs.
Reliable: The single-screw compressor delivers industrial-grade performance and reliability. The Vilter VQ95 industrial heat pump is a complete single-stage, closed-loop NH3 system that offers lower maintenance costs and longer times between service periods. Eliminating the oil pump eliminates one of the most common causes of failure.
Flexible: The Vilter VQ95 industrial heat pump has a modular and scalable design. It is available in two compact footprints supporting more than 2,000 standard configurations, which provide higher capacity per skid — potentially meeting application requirements with fewer units. With a 1 to 5 MW heating capacity per skid, its modularity enables systems to be scaled with parallel or serial pipe connections, allowing it to scale in capacity as needed. Additionally, the Vilter VQ95 heat pump provides a high standard temperature rating of up to 95°C with high lift capability in a single-stage system.
“The Vilter VQ95 heat pump removes the complexities that are traditionally associated with applying industrial heat pumps,” said Grant Kovac, director of product management, Vilter industrial solutions for Copeland. “We focused on striking the perfect balance of a standard, configurable product with enough flexibility to maximise best fit and coefficient of performance for each unique application. To date, the market feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and we look forward to helping our customers achieve their sustainability goals with this modular, plug-and-play solution.”