German heat pump start-up SPH has supplied one of its steam-producing heat pumps to tobacco giant Philip Morris International.
The ThermBooster unit was installed at Philip Morris’s factory in Bologna, Italy, by Dutch system integrator JOA Air Solutions.
The system upgrades residual heat starting at 36 C through a two-stage compression and heat-exchange process. In the first stage, the heat pump elevates the temperature to 80 C, making the energy suitable for intermediate process heating. In the second stage, it further boosts the temperature to 139 C at 3.5 bar absolute pressure, producing steam that can be directly integrated into the plant’s drying operations.
“This is a breakthrough for the industry. A heat pump capable of delivering this volume of steam, and integrating so seamlessly into the drying process, sets a new benchmark in the processing sector,” said Martin Tukker, Director of JOA Air Solutions. “This is the type of innovative technology that can support manufacturers across various industries in their climate transitions and sustainability goals, and drive further energy-efficiency initiatives.”
The system maintains high efficiency, achieving a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 2.5, according to the company. It can reportedly reduce gas consumption for the main dryer at the Bologna factory by 40–50% and recover 20–30% of water from the exhaust.
According to SPH’s website, the ThermBooster uses steam and a range of liquids—such as water, water-glycol, and thermal oil—as both heat-source and heat-sink media. In general, the product’s heat-source temperature ranges from 8 C to 120 C, while the heat-sink temperature can be set at 165 C or 200 C. Capacity per compressor ranges from 400 kW to 1 MW, depending on the required operating point.
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