Hydrocarbon high-temperature heat pumps (HTHP) with outlet temperatures up to 120°C (248°F) are already decarbonizing the food and beverage industry, according to Danfoss.
Ivan Rangelov, Industrial Heat Pump Manager at Danfoss, shared details about the technology readiness levels of various HTHPs at the ATMOsphere (ATMO) Europe Summit 2025. ATMOsphere, the publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com, hosted the event, which was held November 24–25 in Padua, Italy. Wil van den Kerkhof, Technical Director of Dutch OEM Servex, joined Rangelov to present a 1.5MW (427TR) integrated hydrocarbon system for a brewery, delivering steam at up to 130°C (266°F).
“With its need for refrigeration and processing temperatures up to 150°C [302°F], the food and beverage industry represents the lowest-hanging fruit for decarbonizing with HTHPs,” Rangelov said.
Market-ready units: Danfoss has already launched industrial hydrocarbon compressors using scroll, semi-hermetic piston and screw technologies.
- The isobutane (R600a) scroll PSG range provides water temperatures up to 100°C (212°F) with heating capacities ranging from 80 to 500kW (22.7 to 142TR).
- Its HG66 BOCK R600a semi-hermetic piston compressor provides water temperatures up to 120°C, with heating capacities from 100kW to 1MW (28.4 to 284TR). “Next year we will launch this compressor with butane to produce temperatures up to 135°C [275°F],” Rangelov said.
- For larger heating capacities from 250kW to 1.5MW (71 to 427TR), Danfoss offers its new KS screw compressor range with integrated inverter technology, using R600a or R290 (propane) refrigerant, with outlet temperatures of up to 100°C.
Case study: Servex designed a 1.5MW hydrocarbon refrigeration/heating system for Gulpener, a brewery in the Netherlands, using Danfoss hydrocarbon compressors. The brewery aims to operate fossil free by 2030.
- The system includes a 500kW R290 chiller for refrigeration, a second-stage 500kW R600a heat pump supplying 90°C (194°F) water for industry processes and a third-stage 500kW R600 heat pump generating steam at 130°C.
- “The clean steam, generated at 1bar [14.5psi] of pressure, is injected directly into the brewer’s processes,” Van den Kerkhof said.
- When the cooling demand is too low to support the HTHPs, the system uses the air cooler as a heat source, he added.
Under development: “Two months ago we kicked off a project at the Danish Technological Institute [DTI] to build a modular design 500kW hydrocarbon heat pump, capable of delivering steam up to 200°C [392°F],” Rangelov said. The heat pump includes a propane unit producing outlet temperatures up to 50°C (122°F), a butane unit generating between 130 and 140°C (266 to 284°F) steam and an MVR (mechanical vapor recompression) cycle to reach 200°C.
- With a target to develop a 1MW capacity heat pump, the three-year Danish government EUDP (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program) funded project will test a Danfoss piston and a screw compressor in the same application.
- Danish manufacturer Fenagy will build the unit, and DTI will test it, according to Rangelov. He added that the unit will eventually be installed in a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility owned by the biotechnical firm Fujifilm.
- “Between the two different compressor types, DTI will determine which technology better fits given applications based on the matrix of COPs,” Rangelov said.
Quotable: “We see a big demand for hydrocarbon heat pumps to address temperatures above 100°C,” Rangelov said. “It’s a good natural choice with the ability to produce temperatures of 130–140°C when condensing at 28bar [406psi].
