Techno-economic assessment of a high temperature stirling heat pump with latent thermal energy storage for industrial heat generation

High temperature heat pumps and thermal energy storage are key technologies for industrial decarbonization. An effective integration of these technologies can provide flexible and reliable process heat whilst facilitating further uptake of renewable energy sources in the grid. This work presents a comprehensive techno-economic assessment of an integrated system based on a novel high temperature Stirling heat pump coupled with an innovative latent thermal energy storage to deliver process heat at 200 °C. Three different layouts were investigated: a single Stirling heat pump upgrading waste heat, a single Stirling heat pump upgrading ambient heat, and a two-stage vapor compression heat pump coupled with a Stirling heat pump for upgrading ambient heat. The systems are studied with electricity prices from 2023 from four electricity markets: Germany, Greece, Norway, and Spain. Operational dispatch strategies and system sizing are identified for optimal techno-economic performance. The main performance indicators investigated are the levelized cost of heat, CO2 emissions, operational expenditures, and cost savings compared to traditional fossil-fuel and electric boilers. The results highlight that the levelized cost of heat can be reduced by 3–12 % in Germany and Spain while generating operational cost savings of 30–40 %. CO2 emissions can be reduced by 24–63 % when upgrading waste heat. In Norway, the levelized cost of heat can be reduced by 35–45 % while generating operational cost savings of 50–70 % against traditional gas boilers. In Greece, the levelized cost of heat can be reduced by 1 % in the Mid Scenario.