In what innovative way can you reuse hot water released in Tata Steel's hot strip rolling process? That was the central question during the Techport Innovation Tribe on Aquathermie on Wednesday 28 August, which was attended by project managers from Tata Steel, Hoogheemraadschap Noorderkwartier Water Board, water professionals, engineering firms and installation companies from the Techport network, teachers and students from HvA and Nova College.
With aquathermy, you can recover heat from water, which can then be used to heat buildings and/or technical processes. In many cases, special systems such as heat pumps and heat exchangers are used to extract the energy from the water. With current energy prices and the usefulness and necessity of the energy transition, this technique is increasingly being used economically.
The participants of this Innovation Tribe first visited the impressive hot strip mill to get an impression of the amount of cooling water needed to cool steel slabs. Groups then discussed the opportunities to use the hot wastewater for other processes. Where is the (future) heat and energy demand in the region? Who and what is needed to develop an idea into a concrete innovation project?
Afterwards, there were some interesting ideas on the table, which deserve to be developed further. To be continued.
