To operate industrial processes like the generation of hot water and steam or the melting and heat treatment of materials, thermal energy is usually required. In all these processes, a waste of thermal energy occurs, which is referred to as industrial waste heat. In order to reduce the primary energy consumption and environmental impacts due to CO2 emissions, the wasted energy should be recovered efficiently. Different technologies to reuse industrial waste heat for other applications exist. Companies interested in applying these technologies are confronted with risks and uncertainties, such as the lack of knowledge in this field of technology and risks involved with investments in these technologies. Due to these risks and uncertainties, the potential of existing technologies for industrial waste heat recovery is not realized sufficiently. The aim of this article is to discuss a Product-Service System (PSS) that is adequate for a flexible, sustainable and profitable waste heat recovery. This solution is based on the storage, transportation and utilization of industrial waste heat via mobile phase change material devices. Based on the introduction, existing and established concepts for waste heat recovery as well as the theoretical fundamentals of the Product-Service System approach and latent heat accumulators are described. Afterwards, the PSS concept for waste heat utilization is presented. In particular, appropriate business models are introduced for this solution.
Review on the recent progress of thermochemical materials and processes for solar thermal energy storage and industrial waste heat recovery
