The smell of beets, the noise of heavy machinery, the sight of steam swirling into the sky. Part of the experience of visiting the at the sugar factory in Tienen, Belgium and its 4 MW heat pump is purely sensory.
It is also highly impressive. Installed in 2025 as part of the EU-funded SPIRIT project, which EHPA is part of, it produces 140°C steam to enable the crystallisation of the sugar from the 600 cubic litres of beet juice the factory produces per hour, from 600 tonnes of beet.
The sugar beet is grown locally – “We have one of the best beet soils in Europe” – site manager Bart Aerts explains during the visit EHPA organised on 27 October for Heat Pump Day.
The mounds of beets, delivered by lorry, are washed thoroughly. Then they are cut up and the unused parts sold back to the farmers as cattle feed. The pieces of beet then go through a heat exchanger, where hot water extracts the sugar into juice with around 18% sugar content. This is gradually concentrated – using as little water as possible – and can be refined into brown or even further, white sugar.
Sugar making is just one of the industrial processes which use heat at temperatures that can easily today be met by industrial heat pumps. Others, like brewing beer, making paper, textiles, food and drink processing and even chemicals, are also suitable – heat pumps can reach up to 200°C, and all these industries fit. In fact, around 39% of industrial heat needs could already be met by heat pumps.
While many processes are beginning to electrify, it should be sped up in the interests of Europe’s energy resilience, cost savings and decarbonisation.
The importance of this, and how to make it happen, was the focus of the keynote speech from Bruno Tobback MEP and three panellists at the discussion which took place following the site visit. Tobback said European power grids were at least 15 years behind the curve; investment is needed to keep pace with electrification technology. He also pointed to the high additional costs – such as network charges – added to electricity bills. This makes electricity less competitive compared to gas and dissuades companies and consumers from switching to electric options like heat pumps.
This point was also made by the panellists during the following discussion, moderated by EHPA’s Jozefien Vanbecelaere.
Małgosia Rybak, Confederation of European Paper Industries compared the sugar factory with the situation in her sector: where electricity is cheaper you’ll find heat pumps being installed in paper mills. She also stressed the importance of stable policies in encouraging invesments.
Marlène Siméon, Future Cleantech Architects added that the electricity to gas price ratio depends on the country, with good students being Finland and Sweden.
In terms of end user sectors for heat pumps she also gave the example of distilleries, where they are also starting to be added.
Bart Aerts, Tiense Suikerrafinaderij site manager took questions from the audience on the challenges they faced in installing the heat pump and how they were overcome.
He singled out the process integration and also the legal permitting as areas where it’s important to talk to an expert.
All the panellists agreed – as did the audience- that seeing an integrated industrial heat pump for themselves is hugely important. As they left – complementary bags of locally, sustainably produced sugar in hand, there was no doubt that the visit had left a very sweet, favourable impression.
