GEA is investing twelve million euros in the British company Caldera. Caldera has developed electric storage boilers that can store electricity in heat and extract it on demand. The product is suitable for a wide area of applications.
GEA sees this as an important element within holistic concepts for decarbonizing process heat demand between 100 and 200°C, which is typical for many industrial processes.
GEA combines its process and heating expertise to develop systems that reduce energy consumption, reuse energy, and upcycle waste heat streams in customer sites. Heat pumps are a key enabler for the decarbonization of process heating in industries such as food manufacturing, dairy production, breweries, distilleries, and the pharmaceutical sector.
By combining GEA’s heating solutions with Caldera’s innovative storage boilers, it is possible to offer an affordable and reliable way of providing industrial customers with all-electric – and therefore low-carbon – heat. A combined system joins the benefits of a highly efficient heat pump with a storage boiler’s flexibility and fast response time. This allows for the efficient decarbonization of steam networks with varying demand profiles typical across a broad range of industries.
“We are seeing major benefits in electrification and using thermal storage to deal with supply and demand volatility in generating heat throughout our end markets. At GEA, we are committed to leading this transition. That’s why we have invested in Caldera,” said Kai Becker, CEO of GEA’s Heating & Refrigeration Technologies Division.
“Caldera’s storage boiler is a milestone,” he said. “It bridges the gap between variable renewable electricity generation and industrial process heat demand and offers a scalable, economically viable alternative to fossil fuel boilers.”
“Caldera storage boilers in combination with GEA heat pumps are ideally suited to decarbonize fluctuating industrial heat demand between 100 and 200°C,” Becker said. “With GEA’s global reach, process and industrial heating expertise, we can accelerate the deployment of such complementary solutions to industries worldwide.”
“The investment from GEA is a game-changing opportunity for our company and a strong endorsement of our technology,” said James Macnaghten, CEO of Caldera. “Having just started signing early orders, we know we are on the right track.
“I believe that working with GEA and especially leveraging GEA’s vast experience will help deploy our Storage Boilers into even more companies such as breweries, distilleries, the dairy industry as well as the food and pharmaceutical industries, with the ultimate goal of reducing carbon emissions for the benefit of all,” Macnaghten said.
