Issues Surrounding the Utilization of Waste Heat

In the realm of industrial heat production, a new contender is making waves. AtmosZero, a pioneering company, is introducing scalable industrial heat pumps as a potential game-changer in the industrial decarbonization process.

Industrial heat pumps, though around for decades, have primarily remained niche due to the focus on waste heat recovery. However, AtmosZero's approach skips waste heat, offering a solution that avoids the custom engineering challenges associated with waste heat recovery projects.

Many companies, such as Siemens, Ormat, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, offer waste heat recovery systems. Yet, AtmosZero's industrial heat pumps are not limited by the one-off bespoke nature of the industry. This novelty is attracting attention, particularly from major industrial players like ArcelorMittal and Cemex, who have implemented waste heat recovery projects in their facilities.

However, AtmosZero's CEO, Addison Stark, views the pursuit of heat recovery as a distraction from more solvable challenges in industrial decarbonization. Stark believes that the focus on heat recovery has led to a significant increase in capital expenditures (CapEx) without a proportionate increase in efficiency.

Instead, Stark sees a better opportunity for decarbonization via industrial steam, which accounts for roughly 30% of industrial heat in the U.S. AtmosZero manufactures modular industrial heat pumps to compete with fossil fuel and resistive boilers that dominate steam production. The company's modular boiler is designed to be a cheaper alternative to traditional methods of steam production.

The work to capture and upgrade the heat has been a key challenge that stymied both waste heat recovery and the technology of the heat pumps involved. AtmosZero's approach bypasses this challenge, marketing its modular boiler as a cheaper, drop-in solution that largely avoids the custom engineering.

Industrial plants produce more heat than they need. To deliver steam, one needs to get up to above 100 degrees Celsius, and traditional methods capture waste heat in the facility to upgrade it. Capturing excess heat can help cut costs and improve efficiency. Yet, waste heat recovery has struggled to scale for decades and is unlikely to overcome its challenges soon.

In the digital age, data centers are also utilizing waste heat recovery. AtmosZero's innovative approach could potentially revolutionize this sector as well, offering a more efficient and cost-effective solution.

As AtmosZero continues to refine and promote its industrial heat pumps, the company is poised to make a significant impact in the industrial decarbonization landscape. The future of industrial heat production may well be modular and more efficient, thanks to AtmosZero's innovative approach.