A new EU-funded project is set to reduce emissions from industrial heating and cooling by advancing standardised large-scale heat pumps utilising geothermal, solar thermal and excess or “waste” heat for low- and medium-temperature processes. The project aims to address the lack of replicable industrial heat pump solutions, as current systems are often developed as tailor-made installations, making them more expensive and complicated to deploy, as well as limiting their efficiency and impact when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions.
The HP4INDUSTRY project was officially launched with a kick-off meeting on 20 January 2026 and will run for three years. The partners will work together to design, develop and validate heat pump-based solutions to help industrial process sectors cut fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while safeguarding competitiveness. It will also deliver innovative business models that can be scaled up across a wide range of industrial applications.
As Philippe Dumas, Secretary General at the European Geothermal Energy Council and HP4INDUSTRY coordinator said “Energy security, affordability and competitiveness are at the heart of today’s policy-making, and industrial heat pumps deliver on all three. By bringing together clean tech providers with end users, HP4INDUSTRY aims to generate new business partnerships and help to increase the take-up of heat pump solutions”.
The project focuses on low- and medium-temperature heat applications, where large heat pumps with geothermal, solar thermal and waste heat recovery offer the greatest potential. Priority sectors include pulp and paper, food and beverage, and chemicals, where electrifying process heat can achieve substantial emissions reductions.
HP4INDUSTRY follows a structured three-phase approach. In the first phase, the project will map industrial heating and cooling needs and identify available heat upgrade technologies capable of meeting those needs across the targeted sectors. Building on this analysis, project partners will develop and validate standard heat pump solutions under real industrial conditions. In the final phase, the consortium will focus on replication and outreach, supporting wider market uptake during the project’s lifetime and beyond.
At the heart of HP4INDUSTRY is the ambition to bridge the gap between technology suppliers and industrial users. The project builds on previous successful cooperation between members of the European Heat Pump Association and the Confederation of European Paper Industries, which led to the publication of a joint paper in 2023 on standardised heat pump integration in paper production. Drawing on this experience, HP4INDUSTRY addresses two persistent barriers to deployment: limited awareness among end users regarding the benefits and potential of heat pumps and hybrid solutions, and an incomplete understanding of industrial process requirements on the side of technology suppliers.
The HP4INDUSTRY project is funded under the European Union’s LIFE Programme and the consortium brings together a broad range of expertise, including the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), Turboden SPA, Smart Energy Europe, Optit Srl, Stichting S-ISPT, Solar Heat Europe, MM Frohnleiten GmbH, CO.PRO.B – Cooperativa Produttori Bieticoli Società Cooperativa Agricola, and Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V.
