Taken To A New Level: Uniper And Evonik Commission Highly Innovative Heat Pump

• Evonik and Uniper enable sustainable district heating supply in the Ruhr region
• Novel heat pump supplies around 1,000 households via district heating company Iqony and saves up to 1,750 tons of CO_₂ per year
• Pilot project with scaling potential uses industrial waste heat from chemical production in Herne

Uniper and Evonik are currently commissioning a highly innovative high‑temperature heat pump that will now supply around 1,000 households in the Ruhr region with district heating. It uses low‑temperature industrial waste heat from chemical production at Evonik’s Herne site and transforms it to a temperature level suitable for district heating using pioneering technology. As project partner, Uniper was responsible for financing, planning, installation and operation of the facility and was supported in implementation by Evonik. Via the district heating company Iqony, the heat pump feeds up to 1.5 megawatts of heat into the district heating network.

The project avoids up to 1,750 tons of CO_₂ per year in regional heat supply – emissions that were previously caused by the use of fossil fuels. At the same time, Evonik benefits from supplying the heat: until now, electricity costs for electric fans in cooling towers were part of the energy bill. These units are used to cool down heated cooling water from chemical production processes.

In Herne, we are jointly demonstrating what innovative technology and partnership-based collaboration can achieve. Evonik and Uniper are driving the defossilization of the region and showing that sustainable energy, security of supply and economic success can go hand in hand.- Thomas Wessel, Chief Human Resources Officer, Labor Director and Member of the Executive Board of Evonik, responsible for Sustainability

With the high‑temperature heat pump in Herne, we are sending a strong technological signal: as the first facility of its kind in Germany, it shows how low‑temperature industrial waste heat can be made usable through sector coupling. For Uniper, electrifying the heat market is an important lever to support the economy with secure, affordable and increasingly low‑carbon energy on the path to decarbonization. Together with Evonik, we are demonstrating how innovative solutions are already delivering tangible benefits for industry and municipalities today.- Holger Kreetz, Chief Operating Officer at Uniper

Technically, the new high‑temperature heat pump in Herne works in a similar way to a refrigerator – only in reverse. Evonik’s production facilities in Herne require cooling water for operation, which is heated to around 25 to 30 degrees Celsius during processes. This waste heat is no longer left unused; instead, the heat pump raises the temperature further – to the level of the district heating network, up to 130 degrees Celsius. This temperature increase of more than 100^°C at the megawatt scale is technically highly demanding and makes the facility the first of its kind in Germany. This is crucial for existing district heating networks, which require high flow temperatures that conventional heat pumps cannot provide.

For the companies involved, the project has a pilot character: based on the insights gained, Uniper, Evonik and Iqony are examining options for scaling. In the future, it may be possible to integrate a further approximately 20 megawatts of waste heat.

The Ruhr region has enormous district heating potential. Industrial waste heat at different temperature levels plays a key role here. Many sources remain untapped – and we want to change that. Following Gelsenkirchen and Essen, we are now connecting the third waste heat project to our network in Herne within just a few months. The combination of waste heat and heat pumps shows that district heating from Iqony stands for a climate‑friendly technology mix. Already today, around 50 percent of our heat comes from climate‑neutral sources. With this pioneering project in Herne, we are making district heating even more future‑ready.- Matthias Ohl, CEO of Iqony’s district heating business

This innovative heat solution brings Evonik closer to its goal of making the production site more sustainable and climate‑neutral.

As an industrial city, we continue to rely on the chemical industry as a key driver of transformation – together with strong companies. Projects like this make Herne a pioneer region for green industry: waste heat becomes urban heat – reducing emissions, strengthening security of supply and bringing us closer to climate neutrality.- Dr Frank Dudda, Mayor of the City of Herne