Industrial heat pumps: the sleeping giants of UK decarbonisation?
For the past few years, the conversation around heat pumps in the UK has focused on their installation in homes. And while that debate is valuable, it has also created a blind spot.
If we’re serious about cutting emissions, improving industrial competitiveness and reducing dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets, then industrial heat pump adoption needs far more attention than it currently receives.
In my view, industrial heat pump adoption is the sleeping giant of UK decarbonisation.
And the reason why is simple. Heat is fundamental to manufacturing. Food production, brewing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, paper, textiles and many other sectors all rely on processing heat every day. Public discussion around industrial decarbonisation often focuses on electricity generation or passenger transport, but industrial heat stands firm as one of the hardest and largest challenges on the path to net zero.
The technology has moved on considerably. Heat pumps are no longer ringfenced to domestic heating or low-temperature applications. Nowadays, high-temperature heat pumps can deliver temperatures above 100°C, with commercial systems reaching much higher levels depending on the design and application. Research and product development continue to push the boundaries of those capabilities while making the technology easier to integrate into industrial processes.
That is important because many industrial operations don’t need extreme heating temperatures. A large proportion of manufacturing heat demand sits in temperature ranges where electrified solutions can already make commercial and technical sense. The International Energy Agency has noted that less energy-intensive industries account for around 30% of global industrial energy use and that roughly 75% of heat demand within those sectors is below 200°C. These figures point towards a substantial opportunity to make changes now, rather than relying on a distant technology breakthrough in the future.
Industrial heat pumps offer another advantage that often receives minimal attention. They recover and upgrade waste heat that would otherwise disappear into the atmosphere or cooling systems. Instead of generating heat from scratch through combustion, they capture existing thermal energy and raise it to a useful temperature. This approach can deliver impressive efficiency gains because the equipment moves heat rather than creating all of it directly from fuel.
Applications already exist across food and drink manufacturing, dairy processing, brewing, paper production, chemical processing and district heating networks. In some facilities, a heat pump can provide hot water, and in others, it can support drying operations, washing processes or steam generation through carefully designed system integration. Every industrial site presents different engineering challenges, but the principle remains largely consistent; make better use of energy that is already present.
The frustrating part is that technical capability is no longer the main barrier. The bigger obstacle is skills on the ground.
Unlike most domestic installations, industrial heat pump projects need engineers who understand refrigeration cycles, industrial systems, controls, hydraulics, electrical infrastructure and process integration. They require expert consultants and designers who can work with manufacturers to create a solution, rather than just replacing one piece of equipment with another.
The academic literature hammers this point home. High-temperature industrial heat pump installation is rarely just a case of swapping the equipment, because successful deployment depends on understanding the wider process and matching the technology to it. That puts knowledge and training at the centre of successful mass adoption.
For the UK’s renewable energy training sector, that presents a responsibility and an opportunity. We need technicians, designers and engineers who feel confident working with increasingly sophisticated industrial systems. Employers need access to extensive practical training that reflects the realities of factories rather than just domestic settings. Colleges and industry should work together more closely because the labour market will struggle to solve this challenge on its own.
Policy also plays a role. Financial incentives are important but only make up a small part of the bigger picture. Businesses making long-term capital investments need confidence in regulation, electricity pricing and proof of future energy strategy. Constant policy shifts create hesitation precisely where certainty is most valuable.
That leads me to another important point. Better efficiency in industrial settings can improve competitiveness as well as emissions performance. Energy costs are still a significant concern for manufacturers across the UK, particularly after recent years of price volatility and rising costs in all areas of business. Technologies that reduce wasted energy and improve productivity deserve attention on economic grounds alone.
None of this suggests that industrial heat pumps represent a universal answer. Some very high-temperature processes will need different technologies, while others may be better served by hydrogen, electrification or carbon capture solutions. Manufacturing is too diverse for a simple, one-fits-all approach.
Despite this, the scale of untapped potential is becoming harder to ignore.
The UK often talks about climate ambition through the lens of headline announcements and future technologies, but one of the biggest opportunities may already be sitting inside existing factories, hidden in waste heat streams and overlooked process improvements that modern heat pump technology can unlock.
If we continue treating industrial heat as a secondary issue, we might just fall behind on one of the country’s most practical decarbonisation opportunities. We need to focus on investing in skills, engineering capability and confident deployment, to give industrial heat pumps a chance to become one of the quiet success stories of Britain’s energy transition.
