Method for the Economic Evaluation of Waste Heat Recovery Technologies in Bivalent Facilities

The reduction of CO2 emissions has high priority in many parts of the world. It is achieved primarily through the expansion of renewable energies such as PV and wind power. However, they have the disadvantage of fluctuating over time. Energy flexibility measures (EFM) can provide the necessary compensation. One measure is the installation of bivalent and hybrid facilities. They can change their energy source to reduce energy costs, stabilize the electrical grid, and increase efficiency, e.g. for economic and ecological considerations, the waste heat potential and its utilization must be taken into account. EEP and Fraunhofer IPA have developed a method to evaluate various waste heat recovery technologies, such as thermal storage, ORC plants, and other technologies depending on their energy flexibility and their potential to reduce the facility's energy costs. In addition, the change in the electricity to gas price ratio on the level of energy cost savings was examined in a parameter study. The developed method was applied to a bivalent furnace.