Honeywell backs high temperature heat pump using R1233zd
5th October 2021
BELGIUM/UK: Honeywell has announced a collaboration with a UK company developing a high temperature heat pump using the low GWP HFO refrigerant R1233zd.
Futraheat, a company based in Surbiton, Surrey, is pursuing an innovative heat pump technology based on its TurboClaw steam compressor, using R1233zd. The TurboClaw technology is said to be unique in that it can operate at reduced speeds without oil, lowering the manufacturing, operating and heating costs
The company has already received a £500,000 grant from Innovate UK to build a 300kW TurboClaw demonstrator, which it anticipates trialling in early 2022 for waste heat recovery.
“The need for heat is responsible for 70% of industrial energy demand, most of which is generated by gas, and our TurboClaw technology will be the most cost effective, zero-carbon solution to industrial process heating,” said Tom Taylor, CEO and founder, of Futraheat. “Our heat pumps can recover waste heat from as low as 70°C, deliver high grade heat up to 150°C, and operate with modern low global warming potential refrigerants. Using Honeywell’s Solstice zd for the development phase of this project brings us a step closer on delivering on that ambition.”
Julien Soulet, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Fluorine Products Europe, hailed the launch of Futraheat’s as a “milestone” for the industry.
The Turboclaw technology appears to have originated from work at Imperial College London dating back to 1999. The innovation was patented and a company, Dynamic Boosting Systems, incorporated in 2005 to commercialise the technology. Futraheat directors Tom Taylor and Raymond Welham are both directors of Dynamic Boosting Systems.
