Market Overview

In Scandinavian countries, large heat pumps have been used for decades. However, compared to smaller residential heat pumps, the market in Germany is still in an earlier stage of development. Nevertheless, numerous technologies are already available. The database lists more than 60 manufacturers offering commercially available large heat pumps with a heating capacity of over 0.5 MW. Furthermore, there are companies that develop customized solutions for large heat pumps as plant manufacturers. Both established manufacturers and large companies from the fields of air conditioning and refrigeration technology, process technology, or power plant technology, as well as a number of innovative start-ups, can be identified.

The figure shows a market overview and the application areas of large heat pumps depending on the cycle type and the TRL (Technology Readiness Level). Up to a sink temperature of about 120°C, there are a variety of available products on the market. At higher temperatures, the TRL is often below 9, indicating incomplete market maturity. Since process steam is often required in the high-temperature range, open systems or a combination of closed large heat pumps and MVR (Mechanical Vapor Recompression) are usually used here.
Market overview and application areas of large heat pumps depending on the cycle type and TRL, © Fraunhofer IEG 2024

Large heat pumps with a heating capacity of up to 1 MW are usually available in standardized product series. For capacities from 10 MW, however, customized, highly customer-specific solutions dominate. In the medium performance range, many manufacturers also rely on individual adaptations, with considerable potential for further standardizations.

Currently, the largest heat pumps achieve heating capacities of up to 70 MW. However, even higher heating capacities are achieved through modular parallel operation. Large heat pumps for district heating applications with flow temperatures up to 120°C are already widespread and established. At temperatures above 140°C, the market is not yet fully developed and is often limited to products with a TRL below 9. This particularly highlights the need for further developments in heat pump technologies in the industrial sector.

Established manufacturers, new companies, and firms entering the large heat pump market are therefore developing new products for this temperature range. The IEA HPT Annex 58 provides an overview of technologies already available on the market (TRL = 9), as well as high-temperature heat pumps that are in the development phase or nearing market readiness (TRL < 9). The focus is on optimizing components such as compressors and heat exchangers, innovative circuit designs, improved control and operating strategies, and adaptation to alternative refrigerants. Additionally, novel heat pump technologies with innovative cycle processes (e.g., rotational compression, Stirling cycle process, or hybrid heat pumps) are being developed.

In the high-temperature range, where process heat in the form of process steam needs to be provided, open systems or heat pump cascades that combine a closed and an open stage are increasingly being offered.