70% of all industrial energy used globally is to produce process heat. Finding suitable technology that can provide clean heating is now becoming a priority for many enterprises and industries. Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHPs) offer solutions for cleaner heating, with options for cooling, which many industries are beginning to take advantage of. According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, GHPs show promise for the future with more enterprises investing in this technology, growing the GHP market to approximately US$18.5 Billion in 2030.
“Where heat pumps cannot generate high temperatures past 150°C, they still find applications for using waste heat to repurpose it for general space/water heating or process heating that can operate at lower temperatures. The drive for cleaner energy for heating is pushing the market, and its integration with smart energy is allowing it to be introduced in nearly any industry,” explains Sam Torbet, Smart Energy for Enterprises and Industries Industry Analyst at ABI Research.
Approximately 415 thousand geothermal heat pump units were sold globally in 2022, ranging from small domestic use to large district heating projects. Non-residential GHP units consisted roughly 43% of the market in 2022 while contributing 69% of the revenue. This is due to larger units sold to enterprises and industries, which rapidly scale the cost. The Asia-Pacific region will continue to hold the largest market share in terms of units and revenue.
Major players such as Mitsubishi, Siemens, and Carrier will continue to push the boundaries of heat pumps. Current use cases include those in agriculture, using heat to dry crops and recovery of the heat to store in the ground to improve efficiency, and large-scale projects using waste heat to provide heating for thousands of homes and office buildings in cities.
The use of GHPs for enterprises and industries will continue to grow over the years to meet sustainability goals. “Residential applications will hold steady and not grow much in the future as they continue to demand a large space and higher installation costs for the public. However, enterprises and industries have the capital to invest in this technology with its options and applications, allowing the market to grow with a CAGR of 6% through to 2030,” Torbet concludes.
These findings are from ABI Research’s Smart Heating Technologies for Industries application analysis report.
