Last October, we explored how electrical heat represents the next frontier in industrial decarbonisation. We highlighted how industrial process heat accounts for nearly a quarter of global energy consumption, with the 100-200°C temperature range presenting both a massive opportunity as well as a challenge. In this post, we explain why we invested in Enerin, a Norwegian company that developed a breakthrough solution for this critical segment.
The challenge: modular, flexible & high temperature lift
To understand what sets the Enerin heatpumps apart from the others, it is worthwhile to unwrap the key challenges with integrating sustainable industrial heat. The first challenge is to find a heating system with a sufficiently high temperature lift, so that energy from low temperature streams can be re-used instead of wasted. Second, the heating system needs to be capable of dealing with fluctuating operating conditions, given that in many processes frequent start-stops are the norm rather than the exception. Third, asset owners require solutions that are economically viable and deployable in a modular fashion, such that site-specific engineering & design is kept to a minimum.
Conventional heat pump technologies have struggled to address all three requirements simultaneously: multi-stage vapour compression systems lose efficiency at high temperature lifts and fail when operating conditions fluctuate too rapidly. Large-scale mechanical vapour recompression (MVR) systems work well above 20 MW, but do not scale down economically in a modular fashion.
Enerin’s USPs
Enerin has taken a fundamentally different approach. Instead of trying to push conventional heat pump technology beyond its limits, they’ve built their solution around the Stirling engine, a 200-year-old invention repurposed for today’s industrial needs.
A Stirling engine is known to be capable of delivering heat or cold at attractive efficiencies in operating conditions that are outside the operating envelope of conventional heat pumps. However, it proved very difficult to design and construct a reliable and cost-effective Stirling engine for an industrial heat application. Together with his engineers, Enerin’s Founder Arne Høeg has been able to solve the most pressing hurdles and develop a simple yet effective modular machine configuration, which is shown to be reliable over many operating hours.
The company has deployed successful pilots with landmark customers including GE Healthcare, Pelagia (fish processing), and IVAR (bio-energy) in Norway. Their next deployment will be at a Roche healthcare site in Switzerland. Their success has not become unnoticed, as is evidenced by their impressive pipeline covering a wide range of industries and countries.
Alignment with our investment thesis
Our investment in Enerin aligns with our mission: supporting companies that develop technologies that accelerate the energy transition whilst at the same time have the potential to generate a significant positive financial return.
After studying the industrial heat segment, there are three primary reasons driving our investment decision:
Proven excellence in real-world conditions: Enerin has built an impressive track record of operational systems in real-world conditions, with proven energy savings. With every additional successful operating hour, the credibility and reliability of their solution grows.
Market timing: The confluence of rising carbon prices, volatile gas costs, and corporate decarbonisation commitments has created unprecedented demand for decarbonised heat. We are confident that many processes will gradually adopt electrical heating solutions and we see the products of Enerin as a key enabling technology for this movement.
Execution capability: The Enerin team combines deep technical expertise with industrial credibility. Their ability to secure pilots and contracts with blue chip companies like GE Healthcare and Roche is a testament to the team’s quality and we are confident many other firms will want to work with Enerin to solve their most pressing industrial heat challenges.
Looking forward
Enerin’s journey from here involves scaling from dozens to hundreds of units annually, expanding their product range to include 2 MW systems, and entering new geographic markets. With our investment alongside Climentum Capital, The Footprint Firm, Johnson Controls International, Momentum, PSV Hafnium and Ring Capital, Enerin is well-positioned to become the convincing solution for small- and medium-scale industrial heat. Enerin’s combination of proven technology, strong market pull, and a team that deeply understands both the technical and commercial challenges makes it exactly the kind of company Move Energy aims to support. We’re thrilled to join them in moving industrial heat towards a sustainable, electrified future.