High-temperature heat pump application in the ceramic sector

The decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors, particularly energy-intensive industries, represents one of the most technologically challenging objectives of the EU 2050 targets and requires economic assessments involving private investments and public support actions in the form of incentives and tariffs. The ceramic industry is one of the industrial sectors with the highest added value in Europe, particularly in Italy. On the other hand, the transformation processes of the raw material and subsequent manufacturing of ceramic tiles require relatively high temperatures (i.e., up to 200°C for tiles drying, up to 550°C for slip spray-drying, and over 1000°C for tiles firing), for which the availability of competitive technological solutions compared to fossil fuel combustion processes remains limited. In recent years, the development of high-temperature heat pumps (HTHPs), i.e., those for heat sink temperatures above 100°C, has increased significantly. Nonetheless, doubts remain regarding the possibility of effectively integrating HTHPs into industrial processes from both technical and economic perspectives. The article describes the possible HTHP integration pathways in the ceramic tile manufacturing process and identifies which HTHP solutions are technologically feasible, including an assessment of their economic and environmental impacts.