Industrial Heat Pumps UK: Process Heat & Waste Heat Recovery
Last updated: August 2026
Industrial heat pumps can recover low-grade heat from manufacturing, refrigeration, cooling water, exhaust streams or other processes and upgrade it to a temperature that can be reused for process heat, hot water or, in some applications, steam production.
This independent UK guide explains how industrial heat pumps differ from commercial building systems, where waste heat can be recovered, the temperature ranges involved, how high-temperature systems work, what affects efficiency and project economics, and the questions industrial sites should investigate before specifying equipment.
• Independent UK heat pump researcher
• Updated for 2026
Quick Answer: What Is an Industrial Heat Pump?
An industrial heat pump takes heat that is available at a relatively low temperature and raises it to a higher, useful temperature using a refrigeration cycle.
The heat source might be:
- Refrigeration equipment
- Chilled-water systems
- Cooling-water circuits
- Warm exhaust air
- Waste process water
- Condensate
- Another industrial process
- Ambient air, ground or water
The upgraded heat can then be used for purposes such as process-water heating, washing, pasteurisation, drying, pre-heating or steam generation where the technology and temperatures are suitable.
The key industrial opportunity is often heat recovery
Unlike a typical building heat pump that starts with outdoor air or ground heat, an industrial system may have access to a relatively warm waste-heat source that would otherwise be rejected. Recovering that energy can materially change both efficiency and project economics.
Industrial Heat Pumps vs Commercial Heat Pumps
Commercial and industrial heat pumps use the same underlying refrigeration principle, but the design problem can be very different.
| Consideration | Commercial Building Heat Pump | Industrial Heat Pump |
|---|---|---|
| Main purpose | Space heating, cooling and domestic hot water | Process heat, waste-heat recovery and industrial heating/cooling |
| Typical heat source | Outdoor air, ground or water | Waste process heat, refrigeration, cooling water, air, ground or water |
| Typical heat sink | Radiators, fan coils, underfloor heating or hot water | Process water, washing, drying, pasteurisation, pre-heating or steam |
| Load profile | Often strongly seasonal | Can operate for long periods throughout the year |
| Temperature | Usually building-services temperatures | Can extend into much higher process-temperature ranges |
| Integration | Heating distribution and building controls | Production processes, heat recovery, refrigeration and plant controls |
If the project is primarily about heating or cooling a non-domestic building, use our Commercial Heat Pumps UK guide instead.
What Is Industrial Process Heat?
Process heat is thermal energy used directly within manufacturing or industrial activity rather than simply to keep a building warm.
Examples can include:
- Heating process water
- Pasteurisation
- Cleaning and washing
- Drying
- Evaporation
- Pre-heating raw materials or process streams
- Heating tanks and vessels
- Steam generation
Industrial heat pumps are most relevant where the required temperature falls within the operating range of available heat-pump technology and a suitable heat source can be identified.
The first questions are not simply “How many kilowatts do we need?” but “Where is usable heat currently being rejected, at what temperature, and where could that heat be reused?”
Which Industries Could Use Industrial Heat Pumps?
Industrial heat pumps can be relevant across sectors with simultaneous heating and cooling requirements, recoverable waste heat or substantial low-to-medium-temperature process demand.
Food & Drink
Potential applications include pasteurisation, washing, hot-water production and recovering heat from refrigeration or cooling systems.
Dairy
Sites can have significant refrigeration loads alongside process hot-water and pasteurisation requirements.
Brewing & Beverages
Heating, refrigeration and cleaning demands can create useful opportunities for heat recovery.
Paper & Pulp
Drying processes can create waste-heat streams that may be recovered and upgraded for reuse.
Chemicals
Some lower and medium-temperature duties may be suitable depending on process requirements and available heat sources.
Manufacturing
Heat pumps can potentially serve process water, cleaning, pre-heating and other compatible thermal loads.
Where Does the Heat Come From?
The heat source is one of the most important differences between industrial and conventional building heat pumps.
A manufacturing site may already be rejecting large amounts of heat into the environment.
| Potential Source | Example | Why It Can Be Valuable |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigeration system | Heat rejected from cold stores, chillers or food-process cooling | Heating and cooling demands can occur simultaneously |
| Cooling water | Water leaving process equipment warmer than ambient | Can offer a stable heat source |
| Exhaust air | Warm air from drying or industrial ventilation | Heat would otherwise be exhausted |
| Waste process water | Warm water discharged after washing or production | Can provide recoverable thermal energy |
| Condensate | Warm condensate or other recoverable liquid streams | Can reduce the temperature lift required |
| Ambient air | Industrial air-source heat pump | Available where no suitable process heat source exists |
| Ground or water | Boreholes, surface water or other appropriate sources | Potentially more stable source temperatures than outdoor air |
The higher and more stable the useful source temperature, the smaller the temperature lift may be, although actual performance depends on the complete system.
Waste Heat Recovery With Industrial Heat Pumps
Waste heat is thermal energy produced by a process that is not currently being put to useful work.
An industrial heat pump can sometimes capture this energy and raise it to a temperature suitable for another process.
Cooling can become a heat source
A refrigeration or chilled-water system removes heat from one part of an industrial site. Instead of rejecting all of that heat to outside air, a heat pump may be able to upgrade it for process heating elsewhere on the site.
This can create an especially interesting system where the site needs heating and cooling at the same time.
The design should establish:
- How much waste heat is available
- At what temperature it is available
- When it is available
- Whether the heating demand occurs at the same time
- The required heat-sink temperature
- Whether thermal storage could help match the loads
How Hot Can an Industrial Heat Pump Go?
Industrial heat-pump temperatures are moving well beyond the operating conditions normally associated with domestic heating.
HPA UK’s 2026 commercial and industrial heat-pump paper states that industrial heat pumps typically operate at temperatures up to around 165°C, with some specialist technologies able to reach around 200°C, including steam generation.
The UK government’s 2025 Industrial Decarbonisation Energy Innovation Needs Assessment also notes that some high-temperature heat-pump technologies are capable of output temperatures above 200°C, while making clear that technology readiness varies by application, temperature and system size.
For a broader explanation of temperature lift and higher-temperature systems, see our High-Temperature Heat Pumps UK guide.
Can Industrial Heat Pumps Produce Steam?
Some high-temperature industrial heat-pump technologies can contribute to steam generation, but this is a specialist application rather than a capability that should be assumed for every industrial heat pump.
Steam projects need to establish:
- Required steam pressure
- Required saturation temperature
- Steam flow rate
- Available heat-source temperature
- Whether the requirement is continuous or variable
- Whether heat-pump output can be integrated with existing steam systems
- Whether another electrification technology is more appropriate
The government’s current industrial decarbonisation research identifies higher-temperature heat pumps and integration with mechanical vapour recompression as areas of innovation for process heating and steam-related applications.
Temperature Lift Is Critical to Industrial Heat Pump Efficiency
The temperature lift is the difference between the temperature of the available heat source and the temperature at which useful heat needs to be delivered.
For example, upgrading relatively warm waste heat to process hot water is generally a different engineering problem from taking cold outdoor air and producing high-temperature steam.
| Scenario | Relative Temperature Lift | Likely Design Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Warm waste water → hotter process water | Potentially modest | Can create favourable conditions for heat recovery |
| Refrigeration heat → process hot water | Depends on both process temperatures | May combine useful cooling and heating duties |
| Outdoor air → high-temperature process heat | Potentially large | Efficiency and cold-weather performance need close assessment |
| Low-temperature waste heat → steam | Potentially very large | May require specialist high-temperature technology or multi-stage solutions |
Two industrial heat pumps producing the same process temperature can have very different performance if one is supplied with warmer waste heat than the other.
Industrial Air Source Heat Pumps
Not every industrial site has a useful waste-heat stream. In those cases, ambient air can still be used as the heat source.
Industrial air-source systems can provide:
- Space heating for industrial buildings
- Process hot water
- Pre-heating
- Lower and medium-temperature process heat
- Heating and cooling where reversible equipment is used
The design issues remain similar to larger commercial air source heat pumps, but industrial applications may involve longer operating hours, higher output temperatures, larger capacities and more direct integration with production.
Cold-weather output, defrost, electrical input, outdoor-unit location and process resilience all need to be considered.
Industrial Heat Pumps and Simultaneous Heating & Cooling
One of the strongest industrial use cases can occur where a site needs useful heating and useful cooling at the same time.
Examples can include:
- Food refrigeration alongside process hot water
- Cold storage alongside cleaning or washing
- Industrial chillers alongside process heating
- Cooling manufacturing equipment while heating another process stream
In these situations, the heat pump may provide value on both sides of the refrigeration cycle rather than treating rejected heat as waste.
Analyse both sides of the system
If a heat pump replaces or reduces existing cooling plant as well as fossil-fuel heating, the business case should consider the avoided cooling energy and equipment costs as well as the heating savings.
Our Commercial Heat Pump Costs & Running Costs guide explains why whole-system economics are more useful than comparing fuel prices alone.
Real UK Industrial Heat Pump Projects
UK government funding records provide useful examples of the scale and variety of industrial heat-pump applications already being developed.
Beverage Manufacturing: 2MW Process-Heat Project
A current Industrial Energy Transformation Fund project at a UK beverage production site is designed around an industrial ammonia heat pump delivering 2.0MW of process heating at 93°C alongside 1.4MW of cooling capacity.
The government project summary states that the system is designed to recover heat from existing chillers and dry coolers that would otherwise be rejected to atmosphere and reuse it for production.
The project-specific design data includes a stated seasonal COP of 3.0 for heating and 5.0 for cooling. These figures relate to this individual project and should not be applied as generic industrial heat-pump performance assumptions.
Dairy Processing: Recovering Refrigeration Heat
Another IETF-backed UK dairy project captures waste heat from a chilled-water system and reuses it for pasteurisation and other hot-water processes.
Paper Manufacturing
Government-backed industrial decarbonisation projects also include paper-sector applications intended to electrify process heat and reduce reliance on gas-fired combined heat and power and boiler systems.
How Efficient Are Industrial Heat Pumps?
There is no single representative COP for an industrial heat pump.
Performance depends particularly on:
- Heat-source temperature
- Required process temperature
- Temperature lift
- Refrigerant and heat-pump cycle
- Compressor technology
- Part-load operation
- Heat-exchanger design
- Operating hours
- Simultaneous heating and cooling loads
- Controls
- System integration
A COP quoted without source and sink temperatures is therefore of limited value.
Always ask: COP at what temperatures?
A performance figure measured with a relatively warm heat source and moderate output temperature cannot be compared directly with a system operating across a much larger temperature lift.
Industrial Heat Pump Refrigerants
Industrial heat pumps can use different refrigerants depending on temperature, capacity, equipment architecture and application.
Technologies encountered in industrial and high-temperature systems can include:
- Ammonia / R717
- Propane / R290
- Carbon dioxide / R744
- Other synthetic and natural refrigerants used in specialist systems
No refrigerant is automatically best for every process.
The selection can affect:
- Operating temperature
- Pressure
- Efficiency
- Safety classification
- Plant-room design
- Charge management
- Maintenance
- Long-term regulatory exposure
Our dedicated R290 Heat Pumps UK guide covers propane across domestic, commercial and industrial applications.
How Large Are Industrial Heat Pumps?
Industrial heat pumps can range from relatively modest process systems to multi-megawatt installations.
Unlike domestic equipment, capacity alone does not describe the challenge. A 2MW industrial heat pump providing heat at 90°C is solving a very different problem from a 2MW system designed for a substantially higher process temperature.
Important capacity questions include:
- Peak process-heat demand
- Average process demand
- Annual operating hours
- Minimum load
- Available waste-heat capacity
- Required redundancy
- Planned production changes
- Whether modular or staged operation is required
Equipment selection should therefore follow process analysis rather than simply choosing the largest available unit.
Electrical Capacity and Grid Connection
Large industrial heat pumps can create substantial electrical demand even though they deliver more useful heat than the electrical energy consumed.
A feasibility study may need to assess:
- Existing site electrical capacity
- Maximum heat-pump electrical input
- Other major production loads
- Planned site electrification
- Grid-connection capacity
- Transformer and switchgear requirements
- On-site generation
- Battery storage
- Thermal storage
- Demand flexibility
HPA UK identifies grid-connection response times, electricity costs and flexibility as important barriers and opportunities for wider industrial heat-pump deployment.
Thermal Storage and Industrial Heat Pumps
Heating demand and waste-heat availability do not always occur at exactly the same time.
Thermal storage can sometimes help by storing useful heat for later use.
Potential benefits include:
- Matching variable heat supply and demand
- Reducing heat-pump peak capacity
- Allowing more flexible electricity use
- Smoothing production cycles
- Reducing short-term cycling
Storage should be sized from actual process data rather than added automatically. Large storage volumes can themselves introduce capital cost, heat loss and space requirements.
Can an Industrial Heat Pump Replace a Gas Boiler?
It can replace some or all fossil-fuel heat duties where the required temperatures, capacities and operating profile are compatible with heat-pump technology.
But full replacement is not always the only useful approach.
An industrial heat pump might instead:
- Pre-heat boiler feed water
- Provide lower-temperature process heat
- Handle part of the site’s thermal load
- Recover heat that would otherwise be wasted
- Reduce boiler operating hours
- Work alongside existing steam plant
A process does not necessarily need to be entirely converted to heat pumps for waste-heat recovery or pre-heating to reduce fossil-fuel demand.
Industrial Heat Pump Costs and Business Cases
There is no useful generic installed price for an industrial heat pump.
Industrial projects can involve bespoke process integration, large electrical connections, specialist heat exchangers, new pipework, thermal storage and modifications to existing refrigeration or steam systems.
A whole-project business case should consider:
- Heat-pump plant
- Heat-exchanger equipment
- Process modifications
- Electrical infrastructure
- Thermal storage
- Controls
- Professional engineering design
- Installation and commissioning
- Production downtime
- Maintenance
- Electricity use
- Fuel displaced
- Cooling savings
- Carbon costs where relevant
For the underlying energy-cost methodology, see our Commercial Heat Pump Costs & Running Costs UK guide.
Industrial Heat Pump Funding in 2026
The UK’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund has supported industrial energy-efficiency and decarbonisation projects, including industrial heat-pump installations and feasibility work.
However, the programme is closed to new applicants. Government confirmed in 2025 that the planned second Phase 3 competition window would not take place, although previously approved projects continue to receive funding through delivery.
Industrial Heat Pump Feasibility Checklist
Before approaching equipment selection, collect enough process information to understand the opportunity.
1. Map Current Heat Demand
Identify each important heating duty, capacity, temperature and operating schedule.
2. Map Waste-Heat Sources
Identify refrigeration, cooling water, exhaust air, effluent and other thermal streams.
3. Record Source Temperatures
The temperature of the recoverable heat strongly influences heat-pump performance.
4. Match Heat Supply to Heat Demand
Check whether waste heat and useful heating demand occur at the same time.
5. Establish Required Sink Temperatures
Separate lower-temperature duties from high-temperature process and steam requirements.
6. Analyse Operating Hours
Industrial projects with long and predictable operating hours can have a very different business case from seasonal building heating.
7. Check Electrical Capacity
Establish whether the site and local network can support the proposed electrical demand.
8. Consider Cooling Value
If useful cooling is also being provided, include it in the energy and financial assessment.
9. Assess Process Integration
Understand how the new equipment will interact with existing boilers, steam, refrigeration, controls and production systems.
10. Define Performance Monitoring
Plan how electrical input, delivered heat, source temperatures and process performance will be measured after commissioning.
Industrial heat-pump projects are energy-integration projects
The most valuable work often happens before a manufacturer is selected: understanding where heat currently comes from, where it goes and which energy streams can be connected more efficiently.
How to Compare Industrial Heat Pump Manufacturers
Industrial equipment should be compared against a defined process specification rather than brand reputation alone.
Ask potential suppliers for:
- Heating capacity at the required source and sink temperatures
- COP at those same conditions
- Operating-temperature envelope
- Minimum and maximum capacity
- Part-load performance
- Refrigerant
- Maximum working pressures
- Modular or cascade capability
- Controls integration
- Heat-exchanger requirements
- Commissioning support
- UK service capability
- Relevant industrial case studies
Our Commercial Heat Pump Manufacturers UK guide explains the independent comparison framework.
Industrial Heat Pump Design and Procurement
Industrial projects generally require more detailed engineering input than conventional building-heating installations because the heat pump has to integrate with production processes.
Important areas can include:
- Process heat mapping
- Pinch or energy integration studies where appropriate
- Heat-exchanger design
- Process contamination and fluid compatibility
- Production continuity
- Redundancy
- Controls
- Pressure and temperature requirements
- Electrical infrastructure
- Commissioning
For wider heat-pump procurement principles, including load assessment, electrical capacity and controls, see our Commercial Heat Pump Installation, Design & Procurement Guide.
Industrial Heat Pump Research by Topic
| If You Are Researching… | Continue Here |
|---|---|
| Heat pumps for normal commercial buildings | Commercial Heat Pumps UK → |
| Large air-source systems | Commercial Air Source Heat Pumps UK → |
| Manufacturer selection criteria | Commercial Heat Pump Manufacturers UK → |
| Project economics | Commercial Heat Pump Costs → |
| Design and procurement | Commercial Heat Pump Installation Guide → |
| Propane refrigerant | R290 Heat Pumps UK → |
| High-temperature process heat | High-Temperature Heat Pumps UK → |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an industrial heat pump?
An industrial heat pump takes heat from a low-temperature source such as waste process heat, refrigeration, cooling water, air, ground or water and raises it to a higher useful temperature for process heating, hot water or other industrial duties.
What is the difference between a commercial and industrial heat pump?
Commercial heat pumps usually serve building heating, cooling and domestic hot water. Industrial heat pumps can additionally recover waste process heat and provide heat directly to manufacturing processes.
How hot can an industrial heat pump get?
Industrial heat pumps commonly cover much higher temperatures than domestic systems. HPA UK states that industrial heat pumps typically operate up to around 165°C, with specialist technologies reaching around 200°C, while government research identifies some developing high-temperature technologies capable of exceeding 200°C.
Can industrial heat pumps produce steam?
Some specialist high-temperature heat-pump technologies can support steam generation, but suitability depends on the required steam temperature, pressure, flow rate, available heat source and technology maturity.
Can a heat pump recover waste heat from refrigeration?
Yes. Refrigeration and chilled-water systems can reject substantial heat. Where there is a simultaneous need for process heating or hot water, an industrial heat pump may be able to upgrade and reuse that heat.
Are industrial heat pumps suitable for food factories?
They can be. Food and drink sites often have refrigeration, washing, pasteurisation and hot-water demands that can create useful heat-recovery opportunities, but each site’s temperatures and operating profile need to be assessed individually.
Are industrial heat pumps cheaper to run than gas?
Not automatically. The result depends on electricity and gas prices, temperature lift, seasonal or annual heat-pump performance, operating hours and whether useful cooling or waste-heat recovery is also provided.
Is the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund still open?
No. The IETF is closed to new applicants, although previously funded projects continue through delivery. Its published project database remains useful for understanding real UK industrial decarbonisation applications.
Sources & Further Reading
Heat Pump Guide UK uses UK government, industry and technical sources wherever practical. Industrial performance is highly application-specific, so project figures should not be treated as universal benchmarks.
- HPA UK – Commercial & Industrial Heat Pump Recommendations
- GOV.UK – Energy Innovation Needs Assessment: Industrial Decarbonisation
- GOV.UK – IETF Phase 3 Industrial Projects
- GOV.UK – IETF Phase 2 Industrial Projects
- GOV.UK – Industrial Energy Transformation Fund
- DESNZ Energy Technology List – Heat Pumps
Commercial & Industrial Heat Pump Guides
Investigating an Industrial Heat-Pump Opportunity?
Start by mapping heat demand and waste-heat sources before selecting equipment. The temperature and timing of those energy flows will determine which heat-pump technologies are worth investigating.