Futraheat has secured £689,000 in funding from Innovate UK to develop and deploy its 300kW Greensteam 360 industrial heat pump which takes low-grade waste heat and boosts it by up to 60°C.
This delivers useful heat back to the customer and can cut energy use by more than 80%.
The London-based industrial heat pump startup is now looking for a UK industry partner to host the pilot project which will produce low-cost steam up to 150°C.
Futraheat’s high temperature heat pump is built around the firm’s patented TurboClaw compressor technology, which can cost-effectively boost waste heat to above boiling point.
The Greensteam 360 pilot unit will be designed for mass manufacture and will extend the temperature lift to 60°C with a two-stage TurboClaw design.
The Innovate UK funds have been combined with existing cash from clean tech investor Clean Growth Fund, which earlier this year invested £1.5 million in the London company, to deliver what will be a £1 million scheme.
“We are putting out a nationwide call to find an early-mover industrial user who would like to host this groundbreaking £1 million trial,” said Tom Taylor, CEO at Futraheat.
The company is currently testing the Greensteam 330 concept demonstrator at its Surbiton test facility. The Greensteam 330 uses single-stage compression to deliver a 30°C temperature lift.