Most industrial facilities still treat cooling and heating as siloed, disconnected systems. This outdated mindset results in wasted energy, higher greenhouse gas emissions, and unnecessary costs. By shifting to a unified thermal management approach, where heat and cold are part of the same thermal energy ecosystem, industries can unlock major gains in efficiency, sustainability and performance. By Jose La Loggia, Group President EMEA, Trane Technologies

The Current Landscape

Heating and cooling processes account for a major share of global energy consumption and industrial emissions. According to the European Environment Agency, the industrial sector’s heating and cooling contribute around 20-25% of the Europe’s CO2 emissions[1]. For decades, these systems have operated in silos, often installed and managed independently. As a result, valuable energy – whether rejected heat from the cooling process’ condensation or waste heat from the heating process – is frequently lost. But this doesn’t have to be the case.

The Opportunity

Rethinking how thermal energy is produced, recovered and reused offers a clear path toward decarbonised operations, enhanced efficiency, optimised energy use and lower operational costs across the industries. Integrated thermal management systems challenge the traditional mindset, enabling industrial plants to recover, repurpose, and balance thermal energy across their processes. This system level thinking is key to reducing emissions, cutting cost, and moving towards truly decarbonised operations.

A Fundamental Principle

The first law of thermodynamics states that ‘energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be changed from one form to another.’ This fundamental law highlights the opportunity: when we think “thermally”, we see how energy rejected in one place i.e. by the chiller can become useful heat elsewhere in the processes.

In food and beverage manufacturing, cooling and heating are vital for ensuring food safety, maintaining product quality, and extending shelf life. Proper temperature control prevents the growth of harmful bacteria and pathogens, ensuring products are safe for consumption. Precise heating and cooling also preserve the desired texture, flavour, and nutritional value of food and beverages, contributing to consistent product quality. In other sectors, cooling and heating enable process stability, material integrity, or safe storage.  These needs can be met far more efficiently when approach holistically, with an all-electric thermal management system.

Converting siloed heating and cooling plants into thermal systems

According to a McKinsey report, industry consumes more energy than any other sector globally: 149 million terajoules in 2017. Fuel consumption, including generation of heat for industrial processes accounts for almost 45 percent of that total.[2] Data from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) shows that out of the 2,388 TWh of final energy industry uses for heating and cooling purposes, most of it is for process heating.[3]

Traditionally, heating has come from boilers burning fossil fuels, while cooling relied on electric chillers. These systems are designed and operated separately, ignoring the thermodynamic link between them. Consider the following:

  • Industrial processes often require simultaneous heating and cooling
  • Chillers generate heat as a by-product of the cooling process, which is often rejected into the atmosphere or surrounding environment
    • There are often additional sources of waste energy that can be repurposed by heat pump technology: excess heat/cooling of compressed air, decentralized refrigeration systems, and ventilation systems.

This design, where chiller and boiler plants work alongside each other as standalone, separate systems, is no longer justifiable. Existing technology, like heat pumps, makes it possible to repurpose that waste heat for low and medium temperature requirements – without additional fossil-fuel consumption. Existing technology, like heat pumps, make it possible to repurpose that waste heat for low and medium temperature requirements – without additional fossil-fuel consumption.

Case Example: Organon

Pharmaceutical manufacturer Organon, based in Oss, the Netherlands, has adopted a thermal management mindset, demonstrating how integrating decentralised heat pumps can replace central heating boilers and improve energy efficiency.

As part of its sustainability efforts, Organon is gradually installing Trane heat pumps across various buildings. The first project, completed in May 2024, involved installing two water-to-water heat pumps (RTSF 070 G) in a manufacturing facility, providing cooling for compressed air treatment and recovering the heat, which is then distributed to the central heating network.

This project saves 7,700 gigajoules of energy annually, roughly equivalent to 243,000 cubic metres of gas. Organon plans further improvements, including adapting air handling units for low-temperature heating, to reduce reliance on gas and become climate neutral by 2035. These changes mark a significant mindset shift: from fuel-based heating to electrified, balanced energy flows.

Turning Waste Heat into a Resource

Waste heat is not a nuisance to be eliminated, it’s an energy source waiting to be tapped. There is an abundance of free energy all around us, and thermal management systems enable us to capitalise on this, opening the door to completely eliminating the need for fossil fuels for heating. Thermal management systems allow industries to rethink their relationship with heat, transforming what was once discarded into a valuable input.

Heat pumps, although the concept itself is over a century old, have evolved through continuous advances in thermodynamic design, low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants and compressor and control technologies. This has allowed the industry to make heat pumps more viable, more efficient and more reliable. Today, they provide a clean alternative to fossil-fuel heating in manufacturing processes requiring low to medium temperatures.

Heat pumps like the Trane RTSF HT can boost the recovered energy up to 110°C, which covers a wide range of process needs beyond space or storage heating or preheating hot domestic water. Fully electrified thermal systems deliver both hot and chilled water for heating and cooling processes and can recover and repurpose energy without generating on-site carbon or NOx emissions.

Simultaneous heating and cooling systems are three to four times more efficient than the traditional methods, positively impacting the bottom line. A modern heat pump can generate three to four kilowatts of useful energy from one kilowatt of energy input, achieving an average efficiency ratio of 300-400% – more than three times the efficiency of a boiler.

The benefits go beyond performance: by combining cooling and heating systems, facilities reduce upfront investments, save space, and cut operating costs. This is the systems approach in action.

Shifting Perceptions, Overcoming Barriers

Given the process-heavy nature of the industrial landscape, getting a firm grip of a plant’s temperature control systems can quickly reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions and utility bills. While traditional concern and scepticism around the industrial use of heat pumps persist, benefits far outweigh the obstacles. Common concerns – about complexity, cost, or site limitations – often reflect legacy thinking rooted in siloed systems.

  • Initial Costs: While the upfront costs for integrated technologies and renewable energy systems can be higher, these costs are offset by long-term savings. All-in-one (heating/cooling) thermal management systems often have paybacks of only 2-3 years due to greater energy efficiency and operational savings.
  • Complexity: Designing a net zero facility does require careful planning and coordination among architects, engineers, and contractors, but the core infrastructure and technologies exist. The focus should be on converting to thermal systems plants and gaining market acceptance
  • Site Constraints: Around 80% of current projects are retrofits, not new construction – proof that existing facilities can adopt this model.

Moving from separate to integrated systems doesn’t mean reinventing the plant. It means rethinking how energy flows through it.

Case example: Saint Jean

Saint Jean, a renowned French pasta manufacturer, was looking for a temporary 150kW cooling capacity to cover the additional summer load in one of their plants. What started as a typical project, changed the facility managers’ mindset that has originally placed heating and cooling in separate silos.

During the site visit meant to evaluate the plant’s cooling needs, familiar with Saint Jean’s efforts to improve the energy efficiency of their operations, instead of recommending an additional chiller to satisfy the temporary cooling needs, Trane engineers proposed heat pumps that would not only deliver the additional cooling capacity, but also completely replace the plant’s 300kW fossil-fuelled boiler heating system – generating significant energy savings in return.

Installation of two Trane City™ RTSF heat pumps, connected with the plant’s existing chillers, allowed to harness and boost the waste heat generated during cooling process.

The result was a 68% reduction in heating costs and a major drop in emissions.

Project summary:

  • Cooling Capacity: 150kW
  • Heating Capacity: 300kW (replacing fossil-fuelled boilers)
  • Cold Water Temperatures: -8°C to -4°C
  • Hot Water Temperatures: up to 60°C
  • Features: Integrated with existing chillers to reuse waste heat.

Looking Ahead: From Equipment To Strategy

Redefining how heating and cooling systems are managed is vital for energy efficiency and sustainability. Thermal management is no longer just about choosing the right boiler or chiller. It’s a strategic partnership for energy optimisation, decarbonisation, and operational resilience.

As manufacturers across Europe explore new ways to meet net-zero goals, the case for integrated thermal systems grows stronger. But the biggest step is mental: shifting from a model of disconnected systems to one where energy is seen as continuous, recoverable, and independent.

Reimagining heating and cooling as part of a single thermal system is not just a technological shift – it’s a leadership one. By replacing siloed thinking with systems thinking, industrial operators can reduce energy waste, cut emissions and future proof their operations. The mindset is already underway. It’s time to scale it.

 

Product Sidebar – Technology in Focus: Trane City™RTSF HT

Innovations like the Trane City™ RTSF HT heat pump operate at higher temperatures—up to 110°C—offering significant improvements over other systems. The introduction of the RTSF HT has positioned Trane as the first global thermal systems provider to offer high-temperature heat pump technology up to 110°C with standardised technologies, industrial-scale manufacturing, and a comprehensive sales and service network across Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Australia, and New Zealand.

 

The RTSF HT is powered by Trane’s proprietary screw compressor technology and features ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) R1233zd(E) refrigerant. This combination ensures outstanding performance, achieving a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 4.6 under typical operating conditions. The unit’s compact footprint, just 930 mm wide, makes it ideal for applications requiring high capacity (up to 380 kW) while optimising space efficiency and reducing installation costs.

 

Equipped with the Trane Tracer Symbio™800 controller, the RTSF HT ensures smooth, reliable operation and connectivity through advanced algorithms, delivering operational efficiency with a low cost of ownership – a breakthrough combination for modern thermal strategies.

 

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Quarterly_greenhouse_gas_emissions_in_the_EU

[2] Plugging in: What electrification can do for industry (mckinsey.com)

[3] Industrial applications – EHPA

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