Ammonia Heat Pump Tapping River Water Wins EHPA Award

The 5.2MW project in Scotland was awarded the 2021 City of the Year prize by the European Heat Pump Association.

Artists impression of the Queens Quay, Scotland, area with the Titan Crane, the world's first electrically powered cantilever crane

The European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) named the West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, Council, Vital Energi and Star Renewable Energy (a division of Star Refrigeration) as the winner of the 2021 City of the Year award for their collaboration on the a river-source ammonia/NH3(R717) heat pump project in Glasgow, Scotland.

EHPA’s annual Heat Pump Awards recognize the “most efficient, smart and sustainable heat pump projects” across Europe. The awards were launched in 2011.

“This is a huge achievement, and I want to say a big congratulations to the team for getting this recognition, which shows we are truly leading the way,” said Councillor Iain McLaren, Convener of West Dunbartonshire Council’s Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development Committee.

“This system is the first of its kind in Scotland, and I am proud that West Dunbartonshire is using this natural resource to provide energy, not only to help us achieve our net-zero targets, but also to support residents and help eliminate fuel poverty.”

District heating network

The project is a 5.2MW (1,479TR) ammonia river-source heat pump solution for a district heating network serving the Queens Quay development in Clydebank, west of Glasgow. It is the first industrial scale river-source heat pump for such a purpose in the country, according to Star Refrigeration.

The system consists of two independent heat pumps, each with a capacity up to 2.6MW (739TR), and two 900kW drive motors. The system has a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 3.34 on full load and 3.07 on two-thirds load, according to Dave Pearson, Group Sustainable Development Director of Star Refrigeration, who spoke about the project at the Institute of Refrigeration conference in April.

The heat pumps generate water up to 80°C (176°F) for the 2.5km (8,202ft) piping network, connected to both residential and commercial buildings. The district heating network includes the local town hall, a college and more than 1,000 homes.

“Water source heat pumps have been in use in mainland Europe for several years, but the Queen’s Quay scheme is the first large-scale, high temperature heat pump deployment in the U.K.,” Pearson explained.

“We are delighted that the Queen’s Quay heat pump project has been recognized as leading the way in delivering low-carbon district heating,” he added.

Star Refrigeration sees great potential for water-source heat pumps to be deployed in various locations across the U.K. “In England alone, it is estimated that more than 6GW of renewable heat can be extracted from rivers and canals. The long coastline of Wales and Scotland also offer potential for heat pumps to extract further heat from the sea.”

Star is not only focusing on helping its customers utilize renewable energy sources; it also wants to help them save energy. The company has recently launched the SEC Calculator — a benchmarking app allowing temperature-controlled storage companies to compare their site’s energy performance against industry best-practice guidelines and predict their potential energy and CO2e emissions savings.