Swedish industry companies can halve their energy use - new tech shows the way

Swedish industrial companies could halve their energy consumption – new technology leads the way

Sweden is now stepping up to compete with the rest of Europe in the use of industrial heat pumps. A new initiative aims to help companies reduce electricity consumption while lowering their climate footprint – with the potential to save terawatt-hours annually.

- Many might think Sweden is good at heat pumps, but that’s mostly at the household level, where we’ve historically had support for installations. When it comes to industrial applications, we’re not at the same level as the rest of Europe. We hope this initiative can change that and become a key piece in Sweden’s future energy mix, says Lisa Löfving, Business Development Manager for Energy and Heating at RISE.

By using modern heat pump technology, there is a significant opportunity to reduce both electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

- This technology can save large amounts of energy. In industry, drying is one of the most energy-intensive processes in Sweden, requiring between 13 and 15 terawatt-hours annually. Just producing a single gypsum board consumes 24 kilowatt-hours of energy, two-thirds of which is used during drying. That amount of energy could heat a Swedish home for 6 to 9 hours during winter, explains Bassam Badran, project manager at RISE.

He continues:

- The technology we use is called MVR4DRY (Mechanical Vapor Recompression), which means mechanical vapor compression. It can recover half of the energy used during drying and has proven effective in practice. It can also be applied to other sectors and industries, not just drying processes.

Lisa Löfving elaborates on how industrial companies and municipalities can benefit from the technology:

- For instance, when companies generate residual heat during manufacturing, but the temperature isn’t high enough to be useful in the next step. Heat pumps can raise the temperature so the energy can be reused in operations or fed into the local district heating network, she says.

According to Lisa Löfving, supporting the district heating network with energy would be a welcome development:

- It would free up the bio-based raw materials we currently burn. We could then use those resources for something better.

It’s part of helping companies meet their climate goals while working more cost-effectively in the energy sector.

Stricter EU Requirements

The initiative, funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, involves RISE in collaboration with the Royal Institute of Technology, industry stakeholders, and companies. The background to the initiative includes the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), planned for implementation in July 2026. It puts pressure on Sweden and other EU countries to act. The directive aims to promote energy efficiency across the EU and help achieve the shared goal of reducing climate emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030.

- The directive includes requirements for energy audits in large companies, energy measurement in buildings, and cost-benefit analyses when constructing new facilities, says Lisa Löfving.

New technology could halve the energy use

One of the goals of the industrial heat pump initiative is to design, optimize, and deliver a fully integrated system for installation, verification, and testing at an industrial site in Åhus.

- It will demonstrate how it works in practice and show that the system is ready for full-scale deployment and commercial use. We’ll also launch a real-time monitoring system to track key performance indicators, such as 50% energy savings and reduced carbon footprint, says Bassam Badran.

The initiative is an important step toward more efficient energy use in Swedish industry.

- It’s part of helping companies meet their climate goals while working more cost-effectively in the energy sector. We understand that industrial companies face challenges—their main focus is production—but energy use is a vital tool for strengthening long-term competitiveness for both the company and Sweden as a whole, she concludes.

Learn more about the initiative: MVR4DRY – Integrated MVR Heat Pump System for Drying Gypsum Boards | RISE

>> Interested in energy research and development? Contact Lisa Löfving

The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)

The directive aims to establish a common framework for promoting energy efficiency within the EU, contributing to the shared goal of reducing climate emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030. Key requirements include:

Member states must reduce final energy consumption within the EU, with a binding cap of 763 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent), equivalent to 8,874 TWh by 2030.
Public entities and operations must reduce energy use by 1.9 percent annually.
Energy requirements must be included in public procurement.
Publicly owned buildings must undergo energy-efficient renovations covering 3 percent of floor area annually.
Companies with high energy use must conduct energy audits and/or implement certified energy management systems.

Source: Swedish Energy Agency