European industry is facing one of the most important challenges of the coming years: reducing CO₂ emissions without compromising competitiveness and production efficiency.
A significant share of energy consumption across industrial sectors is linked to process heat generation, often at temperatures below 200°C. This is an area where high-efficiency electric technologies can make a tangible contribution to the energy transition.
An integrated approach
Accelerating this transition requires more than developing individual technologies: it calls for integrated systems capable of interacting with existing production processes.
This is the vision behind ZEnITh – Zero Emissions Industrial Technologies, a Horizon Europe project co-funded by the European Union. The project brings together 17 partners, including companies, universities, research centres and industry associations from six countries, with the aim of developing standardized and replicable solutions for the decarbonization of industrial thermal processes.
The initiative combines three key elements:
- high-temperature heat pumps powered by natural refrigerants;
- thermal energy storage systems;
- AI-based intelligent energy management platforms capable of optimizing energy consumption and facilitating integration with renewable energy sources.
From research to real-world application
One of the most interesting aspects of the project is its focus on real-world application.
The solutions will be validated through demonstrators at both pilot and industrial scale, while tools will be developed to facilitate their replication across different industrial sectors, from aluminium and food processing to paper and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
The goal is to turn research results into technologies that can be effectively adopted by the market.
Innovation means bringing different areas of expertise together.
For this reason, ZEnITh involves the entire value chain: technological development, design, industrial integration, environmental assessment, business models and training activities are being carried out in a coordinated way. This approach aims to ensure that the solutions are not only technically effective, but also economically sustainable and readily replicable.
Within this framework, Clivet is participating as project coordinator, contributing to the development of high-temperature heat pumps, the implementation of demonstrators, and co-creation activities with stakeholders across the value chain.
The energy transition in industry requires new skills, collaboration between research and business, and a shared vision. Only through this approach can technological innovation become a tangible opportunity for designers, installers, distributors and the HVAC sector as a whole.
The energy transition of industry will not depend on a single technology, but on the ability to integrate innovation, expertise and collaboration across the entire value chain.
Projects such as ZEnITh demonstrate how research, industry and academia can work together to develop concrete, scalable and replicable solutions capable of accelerating the decarbonization of industrial processes. In this context, dialogue between manufacturers, designers, distributors and end users will be essential to turn innovation into real-world applications and contribute to building a European industry that is increasingly efficient, resilient and sustainable.
*Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor HaDEA can be held responsible for them.