SMS commissions Germany’s largest air-to-water heat pump

SMS has commissioned Germany’s largest air-to-water heat pump at its Hilchenbach site. With the all-electric power-to-heat system, the metallurgical plant manufacturer makes savings of 6,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. The company has thus completely dispensed with the fossil fuels previously used.

A milestone in industrial decarbonisation: SMS has commissioned Germany’s largest air-to-water heat pump in Hilchenbach. According to the company, the all-electric power-to-heat system runs exclusively on electricity from renewable sources and saves 6,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Control system with artificial intelligence

The system reportedly combines several high-tech components to create an integrated heating solution. Four large air-to-water heat pumps with an output of three MWth extract thermal energy from the ambient air, even at sub-zero temperatures. This energy is temporarily held in a source storage tank, before water-to-water heat pumps with an output of four MWth heat it to up to 85 degrees Celsius. A 2,000 m³ buffer storage system guarantees heat availability even at peak demand.
During particularly cold periods, an electric boiler with an output of four MWth kicks in, which also heats the water to up to 95 degrees Celsius purely through the use of electricity. The intelligent control system is particularly innovative: an AI-supported forecasting model adjusts operation according to the weather and load, thus ensuring that the system runs when electricity is cheap and green. “The power-to-heat plant is a central component on our path toward climate-neutral operations at the Hilchenbach site – a goal that we want to achieve by 2030. At the same time, it signals a new departure for all our other locations. We at SMS group are advancing the decarbonisation of the global steel industry – but it is just as important that we take responsibility within our own organisation and implement sustainability across the board in our plants,” says Fabíola Fernandez, CFO of the SMS group.
The system is reported to stabilise the electricity grid, too, by storing surplus green electricity in the form of heat. Thanks to its modular design, it is easy to add on further regenerative system components, making it a future-proof solution. “The power-to-heat system in Hilchenbach demonstrates how industrial decarbonisation is already working today – economically, modularly and entirely without fossil fuels,” explains Thomas Stephanblome, CEO of Getec, the company that built the plant.
Source: SMS group