Heat accounts for more than half of the global total final energy consumption and is today still mainly produced by using fossil fuels. Companies are consequently looking for better ways to reduce their carbon footprint and to optimize their energy efficiency. In applications such as food, beverage and dairy processing, products are usually heated up and then refrigerated. GEA’s heat pumps reuse and upcycle waste heat from essential refrigeration processes and repurpose it in the production process. This significantly reduces the energy demand of many industries. Simply put: Heat that would be wasted can now be used to replace carbon emissions.
“Our name change clearly signals our long-term commitment to the growing heating and refrigeration market by providing our customers with integrated solutions that are more energy efficient and better for the environment,” says Kai Becker, CEO of GEA Heating & Refrigeration Technologies. “We have the knowledge, the technology and the ability to successfully implement innovative projects that enable customers to build green factories that comply with current and future emission targets.”
Providing customers better access to heating and cooling technology
To provide customers easier access to the latest heat pump technology, GEA is investing a high singledigit million-Euro sum in the extension of its test centers throughout Europe.The expansion from 400m² to 850m² of its existing test center in Berlin started in May 2021 and is scheduled to conclude in 2023. As the facility will be 90 percent automated and operational 24/7, customers will for example benefit from digital and real-time machine and performance data. In Den Bosch, Netherlands, GEA is integrating its off-site test centers into the existing factory and extending it with new state-of-the art test equipment.
“These measures help drive GEA’s own sustainability goals as well as increase customer satisfaction by providing them support on their road to decarbonization,” Becker adds. “We are now seizing the opportunity to expand our division sustainably. This is a perfect example of engineering for a better world.”