The RE-WITCH project aims to demonstrate innovative industrial cooling solutions that can be driven by low-grade heat, provided either by onsite renewables or from waste heat sources. Three different innovative technologies are under optimization in the framework of the project. It features an adsorption chiller unit with a new patented design that lowers costs and makes the technology simpler; a hybrid absorption heat pump that uses a water vapor compressor to provide both cooling and heating, meeting two different needs in the industrial process with one system; and a double-temperature absorption chiller that is designed to provide cooling at two different temperature levels. Moreover, the system will integrate innovative high-vacuum solar thermal collectors, able to achieve a high energy conversion efficiency even in low direct irradiance weather conditions.
The activity will be based on a first phase, during which the technologies will be properly adapted by means of a specific innovative design, targeting the optimization of energy efficiency as well as the compactness and cost reduction of the proposed solutions. This phase will also be supported by the implementation of a numerical model platform, able to simulate the optimal techno-economic integration of the RE-WITCH technologies inside different industrial processes.
In the subsequent phase, existing lab-scale testing rigs will conduct controlled tests on the developed technologies. This will enable us to assess the performance maps and furnish the manufacturers with feedback for a final design review.
Finally, we will implement the innovative RE-WITCH technologies in four different demo sites. The demo sites will encompass a diverse range of industrial processes, including brewing, food processing, biofuels, and paper processing. The design of the demo integration will be based on the BIM approach, also integrating digital twins of all the demo sites. The project will also incorporate a cloud platform for the proper integration of monitoring and control systems. We will then monitor the installed technologies to assess the benefits of the proposed systems, encompassing energetic, economic, and environmental aspects. These findings will be complemented by a replication analysis to analyze the applicability of the solutions to other industrial processes, including district heating-connected industrial parks.
By the end of the project, we expect to reach the following main objectives at the technologies level:
- Demonstration of adsorption chiller being able to be driven by heat down to 70°C, with thermal COP up to 0.65 and electric COP up to 20. We aim to keep the CAPEX below 600 €/kW.
- Demonstration of hybrid absorption heat pump with thermal cooling COP up to 0.68 and heating COP up to 1.75. Electric cooling COP of 9 and heating COP of 23. CAPEX of 280 €/kW.
- Demonstration of a dual-cooling temperature absorption chiller with a thermal cooling COP of 0.7 a seasonal EER of 25, and a CAPEX of 350 €/kW.
