Turning up the heat, cutting emissions: the industrial heat revolution beneath our feet
Industrial heat pumps could cut European manufacturing emissions by 25% - the equivalent of erasing the Netherlands’ entire carbon footprint. The technology exists – so why aren’t we rolling it out faster?
The future of industrial heat is already here, hidden beneath our cities and factory floors. With industrial heat pumps, we’re not just warming up manufacturing, we’re cooling down emissions.
Right now, more than 60% of all energy used in European manufacturing is for heat, whether for metal forging, food production or chemical processing. And most of it still comes from fossil fuels.
But latest findings show industrial heat pumps could cut manufacturing emissions by a quarter. That’s a potential saving of 146 million tonnes of CO₂ every year – more than the total annual emissions of the Netherlands (yes, the whole country!) According to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), if the technology available today were fully rolled out, it could supply up to 37% of the industry’s process heat.
It’s a powerful statistic, but what does it mean in practice? The potential isn’t just theoretical. Across Europe, we’re already seeing large-scale industrial heat pumps making a real impact.
Heat pumps in action
Keeping patients at the perfect temperature at the QMC
We're working with the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham to install a 4MW heat pump with 2.88MW of cooling capacity to produce renewable power by extracting heat from the air and warmth from the earth via 64 boreholes that descend 200 metres under the ground.
As part of this new £15 million energy centre, built and operated by E.ON control solutions, we’ll provide low carbon heating and cooling to the entire hospital for years to come.
Sharing the heat: the energy network powering London’s docklands
In East London’s Silvertown, an ambitious urban energy project is under way. Here, we’re developing ectogrid™, a pioneering low-carbon energy network designed to serve over 6,000 homes and businesses.
Originally developed in Sweden, ectogrid™ technology works by capturing, storing and redistributing heating and cooling across neighbouring buildings. Heat pumps in each building are connected to a common low-temperature grid, recovering and sharing excess energy. Instead of constantly generating new energy, it reuses what’s already there – cutting energy demand by up to 75%.
Energy hidden beneath London’s streets
Meanwhile, beneath the bustling financial district of London, our hidden power plant, Citigen, is tackling the city’s ever-growing energy demands.
A 4MW industrial heat pump, hidden underground but making a massive impact. This cutting-edge system is 1,000 times larger than a standard home heat pump, cutting carbon emissions from the site by 30%.
Malmö: a research hub leading the way
As pioneers of ectogrid™ technology, we’re transforming energy use at Medicon Village, a cutting-edge research park in Malmö, Sweden. Here, heat pumps do more than just heat buildings — they balance entire energy systems.
Before ectogrid™, the site required 10 GWh of district heating and 4 GWh of district cooling. Now, with heat pumps at the core, we’re working towards a system where 11 GWh of energy is balanced internally, slashing external energy needs to just 3 GWh.
Champagne on tap: Reims’ eco-district
In Reims, France — famous for its Champagne — we’re bringing industrial heat pumps into the mix. Our eco-district’s geothermal-powered ectogrid™ extracts heat from underground water and uses smart heat pumps to boost temperatures for heating and cooling.
With over 70% of the district’s energy coming from renewable sources, this project proves that entire communities can run on greener, smarter energy.
Milan: powering a smart city
And in Milan’s Innovation District (MIND), we’ve scaled up heat pump technology to power an entire city district.
At the heart of this next-gen district is ectogrid™, where heat pumps in all 32 buildings work together to recover and share energy. Instead of wasting excess heat, the system redistributes it — lowering emissions, cutting waste, and offering a smarter solution to power cities.
The future is already here — so let’s scale it up
The potential is enormous, and the technology exists. The question isn’t if we should roll out industrial heat pumps — it’s how fast we can do it.
With large-scale projects like Silvertown’s ectogrid™ and Citigen’s powerhouse heat pump already in motion, it’s clear that industrial decarbonisation isn’t just a distant ambition. It’s here, it’s happening, and it’s ready to scale.
Europe’s manufacturers have a golden opportunity to cut emissions and drive efficiency with heat pumps. It’s time to turn up the heat, quite literally.