Behind factories, paper mills, chemical plants and large-scale heating networks, vast amounts of energy are still being generated using fossil fuels.
In fact, over 70% of industrial process heat worldwide still relies on traditional carbon-heavy sources.
That, however, is starting to change.
Innomotics is pushing hard into one of the most important areas of industrial decarbonisation: industrial heat pumps.
Unlike the small domestic heat pumps homeowners are becoming familiar with, industrial heat pumps operate on a much larger scale. They recover ambient heat or waste heat from existing processes and upgrade it into usable high-temperature heat — in some cases up to 150°C. That means businesses can recycle energy they would otherwise lose, dramatically improving efficiency while cutting emissions.
The commercial argument is just as strong as the environmental one.
Heat pumps can deliver several times more thermal output than the electrical energy they consume, making them one of the most efficient heating technologies available. When powered by renewable electricity, carbon emissions can be reduced to near zero. At the same time, operators benefit from lower running costs, reduced maintenance, and system availability as high as 99.9%.
That combination of green credentials and financial savings is exactly why major industrial players are paying attention.
One standout example is in the Netherlands, where the country’s largest heat pump system recovers heat daily from 65 million litres of treated wastewater.
Powered by Innomotics drive systems, the project supplies district heating to around 20,000 households, covers roughly 15% of regional heat demand, and cuts CO₂ emissions by around 30,000 tonnes every year.
In Germany, the company is also supplying key technology for what is being described as the world’s most powerful industrial heat pump at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site. The system is expected to generate up to 500,000 tonnes of steam annually, a major step forward for industrial electrification.
Further projects in France and Finland are proving the same point: waste heat is no longer waste if you have the right infrastructure to capture it.
As Michael Reichle, CEO of Innomotics, puts it, industrial heat pumps are becoming “a key technology for the energy transition,” helping businesses become both more efficient and more sustainable.
In short, decarbonisation is no longer just an environmental issue, it is rapidly becoming a competitive business advantage. And for industry, heat pumps may be one of the smartest investments of the decade.
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