Waste Heat Recovery Usage Poised for Major Growth
Could waste heat recovery be the next big thing when it comes to renewable energy? According to a recent research report, the answer is a resounding “yes” due to the technology’s ability to promote energy efficiency, provide relief to climate pressures, and supplement energy portfolios with a lower-cost option.
Benefits of Waste Heat Recovery
According to a report by Market Research Future, the waste heat recovery market is expected to grow to $114 billion in just 7 years (2028). That represents a nearly 10% increase year-over-year from 2021 to 2028.
The idea behind the technology is to reuse heat energy that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Reusing this energy would create a lower-cost energy source and would also help address climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere.
Why does this matter? Well, the reason is because it is estimated that approximately 50% of all industrial heat waste is currently “lost.” Clearly, that is a lot of waste, and recapturing only a small portion of it would pay dividends, not the least of which is helping electric utilities fortify their supply and generation mix.
While this might seem like a pie-in-the-sky idea, it’s actually already being commercialized. In early 2021, Siemens Energy and TC energy partnered to develop a waste heat recovery facility in Canada. The output will be incorporated into the electric grid, and because it is climate-friendly, it’s projected to result in a 44,000-ton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the same amount of energy generated from traditional sources.
Overall, this is a good development from an emergency preparedness perspective. While it might seem like a stretch, anything that can be done to mitigate global warming will help utilities, as it’s well known at this point that the warming global temperatures are creating more volatile weather and, by extension, more outages. In addition, it represents another potential source of supply, which can only help reliability.
The bottom line is that waste heat recovery is one of several emerging renewable energy technologies designed to make energy generation cleaner. While it’s not the end-all, be-all, it definitely represents an excellent piece of the puzzle.
