Ecological and Energetic Transition towards industrial Sustainability: feasibility study of a low enthalpy ground source heat pump for heating and cooling systems

Low enthalpy geothermal sources in Italy are spread all over the territory thanks to its geological conformation. Water at a constant temperature, from 15°C to 30 °C, can be found at relatively short depths and extracted through wells and submersible pumps, and high fractions of renewable thermal energy (over 80%) can be produced. Applications are growing, but, looking at the overall potential, they are still not enough due to the lack of investment policies in this field and legislative, technical, and economic barriers. Since Paris Conference of December 2015 till the recent European Green Deal presented in December 2019, international and European guidelines concerning emissions have become increasingly challenging and industries must gradually but concretely adapt their energy plants. The paper shows a feasibility study of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system for the air conditioning of a manufacturing company’s canteen building. The paper compares the GSHP system and the existing trigenerative centralised system: the whole plant’s energy structure modelling is introduced through a process flow diagram to spot all potential actions given the initial conditions. The GSHP feasibility study aims to be part of a more comprehensive strategy for gradual transition to renewables and energy efficiency improvement, representing an innovative choice that a company can make to become more sustainable.