Overview
The industrial sector, which accounted for 25.1% of the EU’s total energy consumption in 2022, remains a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. With 33.3% of its energy sourced from electricity and 50.4% from fossil fuels, the sector’s reliance on traditional energy highlights the urgent need for improved efficiency and better resource utilization. Industrial waste heat recovery presents a promising yet largely untapped opportunity to drive substantial energy savings, accelerate decarbonization, and significantly reduce CO₂ emissions.
ZIMBA project directly addresses this challenge by introducing an innovative heat pump system based on an Absorption Heat Transformer (AHT) using ammonia/water refrigerant. Designed to operate efficiently at a 15 kW (thermal) scale, this innovative technology aims to provide industrial heat production, starting at 110 °C and later scaling up to 130 °C. To enhance performance and flexibility, the heat pump system will be further optimized with an ejector, allowing for a wider range of operational capacities. This adaptability ensures the technology can meet the diverse heat requirements of various industrial processes, making it a key solution for reducing industrial carbon footprints and contributing to a sustainable energy transition.
Project facts
Acronym:
ZIMBA
Full title:
Zero-carbon Industrial heat production by aMmonia water aBsorption heAt transformer
Grant Agreement no:
101146932
Start Date:
01/12/2024
End Date:
30/11/2028
Duration in months:
48
Project budget:
€ 1,916,760.63
Funding scheme:
Research and Innovation Action (RIA)
Funding Programme:
Horizon Europe
Call identifier:
HORIZON-CL5-2023-D3-02-04
Keywords:
Renewable energy sources, Decarbonising industry, Water-Ammonia Absorption Heat Transformer, Heat pump, Ejector, Industrial heat
Impact
Improved performance of heat pumps and/or heat pump components
ZIMBA’s AHT solution converts waste heat into usable heat with minimal electricity, offering high efficiency and a compact design that uses less critical material and space than conventional systems. With low capital and operational costs, minimal energy use, and reliance on free waste heat, ZIMBA provides an attractive and sustainable solution for industrial applications.
Reduced environmental footprint
The ZIMBA AHT system uses significantly fewer critical materials than other similar technologies, requiring only limited copper for the liquid pump motor, while other components are primarily made from stainless steel. Developing technologies that minimize or avoid critical raw materials enhances European resilience in this area.
Reduced greenhouse gas emissions
ZIMBA significantly contributes to the EU’s climate neutrality targets by 2050, in line with the Green Deal and the Paris Agreement. Using ammonia with no impact on ozone depletion or global warming, ZIMBA reduces emissions compared to traditional systems.
Enhanced energy system integration
ZIMBA is a breakthrough in energy system integration, effectively harnessing ultra-low-grade waste heat, often considered unrecoverable. Using minimal electricity, it converts this wasted heat into useful steam, addressing inefficiencies in industrial processes where large amounts of energy are lost.
Ambition
ZIMBA project aims to revolutionize industrial heating systems by advancing and scaling an innovative absorption heat transformer (AHT) technology. Its core ambition is to enable efficient heat recovery from low-grade waste heat sources, turning them into high-value thermal energy for industrial applications. To achieve this, ZIMBA focuses on:
Objective 1: First upscale of the baseline AHT system
Developing an advanced AHT system based on the existing POLIMI prototype. The goal is to design a scalable, energy-efficient system that operates on waste heat with minimal electricity, ensuring high reliability and performance.
Objective 2: Specific ejector designed to improve the performance of the baseline AHT system
Developing a specialized ejector to enhance the AHT system’s performance, stabilizing it under high condensation temperatures and ensuring effective operation with a two-phase ammonia-water mixture and varying pressure flows.
Objective 3: Integration of the specific ejector into the baseline AHT system and performance validation
Sizing, designing, and testing the enhanced ammonia/water AHT system, optimized with a custom ejector. The system will generate heat and steam at 110 °C from a 70 to 80 °C heat source, with performance improvements validated through a testing campaign.
Objective 4: Preparatory studies for second upscale up-to-market penetration
Identifying optimal technological solutions, business models, and key industrial markets for commercial deployment of the AHT system, targeting performance, cost, and energy circularity.
Objective 5: Scientific and technical investigations for increasing the heat sink temperature
Identifying AHT technological solutions and optimal sizing to achieve higher heat sink temperatures, targeting key industrial markets for 130 °C heat output. Analysing the upgraded system’s sustainability through Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Life Cycle Costs (LCC), and social responsibility assessments.