Energy Pathways for heat recovery in industrial processes – CERES-2

The CERES-2 project (CERES stands for "Energy pathways for industrial systems energy recovery") is an answer to the need of the energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the industry through waste heat recovery.

The project is aimed at identifying the "energy pathways" for energy recovery in industrial processes. "Energy Pathways" is used for a set of technologies (e.g. heat exchangers, heat pump) allowing to transfer or transform energy from a source (e.g. exhaust gas from a boiler) to a sink point (e.g. water).

Indeed, industrial waste heat recovery requires a good knowledge of industrial processes as well as technologies to be applied and methodologies to optimise the solution (based on technical and economical criteria). At the present time, this knowledge can be found in research laboratories but has not spread in industry, which faces difficulties to promote heat recovery.
To meet this challenge, CERES-2 will provide four deliverables :
- the building up of a methodology to identify industrial waste heat recovery potential as well as the most adequate technology to valorise this heat (inside ou outside the process) based on technical, economical and environmental criteria.
- the development of a software platform including process and technological databases that will allow to apply the methodology.
- case studies to define waste heat recovery strategies for selected industrial processes, serving as demonstration for the use of the platform.
- the building up of technological roadmaps that will support the priorization of future technological development based on market opportunities.

CERES-2 is an industry-oriented project. The software platform and the strategies for waste heat recovery will be used by research centers or energy managers of industrial groups, also by consulting companies or technical centers to perform technico-econonomic studies. Research laboratories will benefit from the platform to diffuse methodologies or optimisation algorithms they develop and use it for teaching purposes. Last but not least, CNRS may use the roadmaps studies to prioritise technological developments according to promising markets.

The project will enable the gathering, capitalisation and comparison of a large set of technical data coming from know-how of several experts. Its strength will come from the synergies between industrial and academics partners and their will to promote rational use of energy.