Low-Pressure Steam Generation with Concentrating Solar Energy and Different Heat Upgrade Technologies: Potential in the European Industry

Abstract

The industry is currently responsible for around 21% of the total CO2 emissions, mainly due to heat production with fossil fuel burners. There are already different technologies on the market that can potentially reduce CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, the first step for their introduction is to analyze their potential on a global scale by detecting in which countries each of them is more attractive, given their energy prices and resources. The present work involves a techno-economic analysis of different alternatives to replace industrial gas boilers for low-pressure steam production at 120 °C and 150 °C. Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) was compared with Electric Boilers (EBs), High-Temperature Heat Pumps (HTHPs), and Absorption Heat Transformers (AHTs). SHIP systems have the potential to reach payback periods in the range of 4 to 5 years in countries with Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) values above 1400 kWh/m2/year, which is reached in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Romania. HTHPs and AHTs lead to the lowest payback periods, Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH), and highest CO2 emission savings. For both AHTs and HTHPs, payback periods of below 1.5 years can be reached, particularly in countries with electricity-to-gas price ratios below 2.0.