Capturing waste heat from Höganäs for Tullkammarkajen's future heat network
(2025) MVKM01 20251Department of Energy Sciences
- Abstract
- In the pursuit of more sustainable urban energy systems, recovering industrial waste heat presents a promising opportunity to enhance energy efficiency and reduce emissions. This thesis explores the technical and economic feasibility of capturing excess heat from an industrial process and repurposing it to supply a new low-temperature district heating network planned for a new residential district.
By identifying suitable heat recovery points in the industrial process and estimating the available thermal energy under normal operating conditions, it is possible to approximate the power that can be extracted. Based on the projected heat demand of the residential area and relevant building regulations, a design of the distribution network is... (More) - In the pursuit of more sustainable urban energy systems, recovering industrial waste heat presents a promising opportunity to enhance energy efficiency and reduce emissions. This thesis explores the technical and economic feasibility of capturing excess heat from an industrial process and repurposing it to supply a new low-temperature district heating network planned for a new residential district.
By identifying suitable heat recovery points in the industrial process and estimating the available thermal energy under normal operating conditions, it is possible to approximate the power that can be extracted. Based on the projected heat demand of the residential area and relevant building regulations, a design of the distribution network is developed to align the supply with demand. In addition, the integration of complementary technologies is considered to further improve heat recovery.
A financial analysis is also conducted to assess the investment requirements, operational costs, and expected revenues from heat delivery, under a model of industrial-urban cooperation.
Recovering residual heat from an industrial activity increases the overall efficiency of the production system, as well as reducing the need for additional energy for heating. All this contributes to the achievement of long-term sustainability.
As urban development is increasingly taking place near existing industrial zones, this type of integration creates opportunities for these kinds of projects. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Every day, industries release large amounts of unused heat to the environment through cooling. But what if we could recover that energy? This project explores how waste heat can be turned into local district heating.
In Sweden, district heating is widely implemented, and hot water is delivered to buildings through underground pipes. However, most of that heat still comes from the combustion process by burning biomass or municipal waste, this leads to emissions and price instability. At the same time, many industries release significant amounts of lowtemperature heat to the environment. This project explores this opportunity.
The study focuses on Halmstad, where the metal powder manufacturer Höganäs AB releases up to 17 megawatts of... (More) - Every day, industries release large amounts of unused heat to the environment through cooling. But what if we could recover that energy? This project explores how waste heat can be turned into local district heating.
In Sweden, district heating is widely implemented, and hot water is delivered to buildings through underground pipes. However, most of that heat still comes from the combustion process by burning biomass or municipal waste, this leads to emissions and price instability. At the same time, many industries release significant amounts of lowtemperature heat to the environment. This project explores this opportunity.
The study focuses on Halmstad, where the metal powder manufacturer Höganäs AB releases up to 17 megawatts of thermal energy, due to its production process. Just a few hundred meters away a new residential district called Tullkammarkajen is under development. The main idea is to redirect this excess heat from the factory to meet the heating needs of this upcoming neighbourhood.
The proposed solution includes installing a heat exchanger, a device that captures and transfers the heat into a newly designed low-temperature district heating network specifically for this district. Since the buildings in Tullkammarkajen are planned to be highly energy-efficient, their heating demand is expected to be lower than the amount of recovered power from the factory.
To make use of the surplus heat, the extra power could be integrated into Halmstad’s existing district heating network. However, because that network runs at higher temperatures, a heat pump would be needed to increase the temperature of this recovered heat. Overall, the proposed system is technical and economically viable. Of course, strong collaboration between the industry and the local municipality will be essential. Both sides must work together to connect the infrastructure, align regulations, and long-term
operations for the system to succeed.
What is interesting is that this waste heat was previously seen only as a cooling challenge. Engineers focused on how to get rid of it, not in how to use this heat. This project rethinks how energy that was previously wasted can be turned into a local resource. By rethinking industrial heat, we open the door to more circular and climate-friendly energy systems, where industries and cities work to decarbonize heating and increase local energy independence. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9196101
- author
- Pané Navarro, Marc LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Turning industrial waste heat into heating for a new district in Halmstad
- course
- MVKM01 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- report number
- ISRN LUTMDN/TMPH-25/5632-SE
- ISSN
- 0282-1990
- language
- English
- id
- 9196101
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-10 13:12:11
- date last changed
- 2025-06-10 13:12:11
@misc{9196101,
abstract = {{In the pursuit of more sustainable urban energy systems, recovering industrial waste heat presents a promising opportunity to enhance energy efficiency and reduce emissions. This thesis explores the technical and economic feasibility of capturing excess heat from an industrial process and repurposing it to supply a new low-temperature district heating network planned for a new residential district.
By identifying suitable heat recovery points in the industrial process and estimating the available thermal energy under normal operating conditions, it is possible to approximate the power that can be extracted. Based on the projected heat demand of the residential area and relevant building regulations, a design of the distribution network is developed to align the supply with demand. In addition, the integration of complementary technologies is considered to further improve heat recovery.
A financial analysis is also conducted to assess the investment requirements, operational costs, and expected revenues from heat delivery, under a model of industrial-urban cooperation.
Recovering residual heat from an industrial activity increases the overall efficiency of the production system, as well as reducing the need for additional energy for heating. All this contributes to the achievement of long-term sustainability.
As urban development is increasingly taking place near existing industrial zones, this type of integration creates opportunities for these kinds of projects.}},
author = {{Pané Navarro, Marc}},
issn = {{0282-1990}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Capturing waste heat from Höganäs for Tullkammarkajen's future heat network}},
year = {{2025}},
}