The manufacturing sector in Europe is facing an escalating crisis. Energy prices have surged by up to 40% since 2022, and the heavy use of resources is eroding competitiveness. Industry, especially energy-intensive manufacturing, consumes vast amounts of energy and water, while a significant proportion of the heat generated is simply wasted. The solution? The EU-funded iWAYS project and its core innovation, the Heat Pipe Condensing Economiser (HPCE), recovers lost heat and condense water vapour, slashing energy and water consumption in the process.
At Alufluor AB in Sweden, a demonstration site in the chemical industry, the HPCE was installed in August 2024. It now captures exhaust heat and condenses water vapour from highly corrosive exhaust gases. The treated condensate is reused on site, significantly lowering the demand for freshwater.
At the ceramic tile facility of Atlas Concorde S.p.A. in Italy, the HPCE is installed downstream of a spray dryer, recovering up to 6 GWh of heat annually while treating and reusing condensate for glaze preparation. This demonstrates how this technology can be retrofitted with minimal disruption.
Meanwhile, at the steel tube manufacturer Tubacex S.A. in Spain, the HPCE installation is designed to recover around 30% of process heat from hot flue gases, recycling the condensed steam via advanced membrane treatment systems towards near-zero discharge.
Looking ahead, the widespread implementation of HPCE across the European industry would offer powerful benefits, including dramatically lower energy costs, significantly reduced freshwater withdrawals, improved material recovery from waste streams and greater resilience against volatile fuel markets. This technology supports Europe’s competitiveness and sustainability, as well as the transition to circular manufacturing.
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