District heating can make you think of many things – for me, it is not often that Robbie Williams is in the back of my head singing along to a DH podcast about very large heat pumps. Nevertheless, that is what Raymond Decorvet from MAN Energy Solutions and Claus A. Nielsen from Esbjerg DH company (Din Forsyning) managed to do during a podcast about large heat pumps and how to include them in the heat portfolio for a large DH company in Denmark.
Morten Jordt Duedahl
Raymond C. Decorvet
Claus A. Nielsen
In Esbjerg, in the southwest part of Denmark, they are currently installing what is believed to be the largest heat pump installation in the world for district heating. It is based on seawater; CO2 is the refrigerant and is an essential part of moving heating in Esbjerg away from fossil fuels towards sustainable heat sources. Sizes are not easy to give precisely, as you will learn in the podcast – but it is around two times 33 MW heat under reference conditions. Large and new in many ways – Claus shares many more details in the podcast.
Embarking on Sustainable Solutions
Din Forsyning expects to finish the project by the end of May 2024. It all started in 2014 when the first transition plan for phasing out a coal-fired power plant was started. Biomass could be an idea, but with Esbjerg being placed on the west coast of Denmark with a lot of renewable power coming in from the offshore wind turbines, there could be other solutions. In 2019, the detailed project development started – and the sea water was the best option in combination with a heat pump. Then, a tender process started for what Raymond calls Mega Heat Pumps – up to 50MW and also manage high temperatures (up to 1500C). The project was given to MAN in 2020 – and then took off.
Heat Pumps as Grid Stabilisers
Claus talks about portfolio thinking –these heat pumps fit well into the entire energy system. They are flexible and integrate with the electricity system, so Din Forsyning can provide balancing services and stabilisation to the grid, hence absorbing more renewable energy when there is too much of it and not using it when there is too little. Here, the ability to ramp up in a very short time is crucial. Before listening to the podcast, please consider how fast you think the heat pumps can increase the input by 8MW. How many seconds?
Lean back, enjoy many technical details about refrigerants, electricity, and compressors, and learn how best to integrate with the entire energy system. There is a need worldwide. Mega Heat Pumps are one way forward to a green transition, and both our experts agree.