We combine innovative heat and cool recovery technologies
LowUP is developing three efficient alternatives to supply heating and cooling for buildings and industries, based on renewable free energy as well as non-valuated wasted thermal sources. All three systems combine innovative heat and cool recovery technologies fueled by low valued energy sources, also known as “low grade”. These include both renewable (solar energy, ambient air and water network) and wasted energy sources (sewage waters and excess-heat rejected from industrial processes).
Heating and cooling refers to the energy needed to warm and cool buildings, both residential and tertiary (i.e. office buildings, hospitals etc.) and includes the energy needed in nearly all industrial processes to manufacture products that we use every day; that accounts for almost 50% of the EU’s annual energy consumption and currently 85% comes from fossil fuels.
Beyond these savings, results generated by LowUp may open new opportunities for the construction and the heating and cooling industry, create new jobs and reduce Europe’s dependency on imported energy. Market studies and exploitation strategies to follow by the partners will be carried out to evaluate these benefits and maximize the impact of the technologies that will be developed and demonstrated.
Milestones
To complete the development of the new three technologies:
- HP-LOWUP: Waste heat recovery and upgrading via heat pump.
Usage: Industry, especially involving thermal processes at low temperature <100ºC.
Challenge: To recover heat waste from an industrial process through innovative heat pumps and self-cleaning heat exchangers
- HEAT-LOWUP: Low exergy system directly fed by recovered heat from solar panels &sewage water
Usage: New or refurbished middle size tertiary buildings
Challenge: To develop an integrated solution that produces, stores and distributes low temperature heat (30-35°C) using: PV module, waste water heat recovery, multi-temperature storage system and radiant floor heating system.
- COOL-LOWUP: Low exergy system directly fed by renewable and free energy sources
Usage: New or refurbished middle size tertiary buildings
Challenge: To develop an integrated cooling system (17-19°C) based on ambient air and tap water using: wet cooling tower, water to water heat exchanger, storage system and chilled beams
But the success of the project will be mainly measured by the accomplishment of the validation of these three technologies thought their real demonstration over four demo sites: a water treatment plant (ACCIONA, Madrid, Spain), a test facility (ACCIONA in Seville, Spain), an industrial site (by ACCIONA ) and a student residence (Badajoz, Spain).
Duration
Start Date: November 1, 2017.
Completion Date: April 30, 2019 (42 months).
Consortium
Led by ACCIONA Construction, LowUp gathers 13 partners (3 large companies, 3 research and technology organizations and 7 SMEs) from 7 European countries.
- ACCIONA, Spain
- CARTIF Spain
- ENDEF Spain
- EURECAT Spain
- FAFCO Switzerland
- GEA Netherlands
- HALTON Finland
- LGI France
- POZZI Italy
- RDZ Italy
- TECNALIA Spain
- TISUN Austria
- WASENCO Finland
Web page
@lowup_h2020