The Apparel Impact Institute (AII) has pointed to steam-generating heat pumps as the most promising pathway to cost and emissions reductions in the textile sector, with commercial viability projected in India, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia in 2030.
Through a recently published whitepaper, the group is urging the textile sector to focus on building the foundations needed to scale the use of steam-generating heat pumps over the next three years if it wants the technology to be commercially viable in major textile hubs.
The window between now and 2030 is crucial, the think tank wrote, noting the factors that make it imperative to hit that goal in three years while also underscoring the challenges that may complicate the timeline.
The most commercially mature steam heat pumps deliver steam at around 120 degrees Celsius (248 degrees Fahrenheit), which is enough for drying, printing, and some forms of dyeing, but many more processes require higher temperature.
“From our engagement with steam heat pump vendors, we see there is a significant gap between what vendors in Asia can deliver and the temperature range that textile manufacturers in the region require,” the white paper read.
Some specialty dyeing and finishing steps require up to 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) while others like synthetics dyeing, higher-pressure jacket heating, pressure vessels and sterilizers require up to 150 degrees Celsius (302 degrees Fahrenheit), which currently has a limited capacity in the industry.
“By 2030, we expect commercially mature 150 degrees Celsius steam heat pump solutions to begin entering the market,” it said.
The business case for heat pumps is important. Most of these heat pump projects have payback periods that can range from five to eight years, which is an issue since textile manufacturers tend to support decarbonization projects with a much smaller payback period of three years or less. As such, it is currently trying to fill this gap with grants that make it cost-effective to invest even if the benefits won’t be notable in the near-term.
“Because the technology is still new and costly, manufacturers need a clear business case for adoption, including why the investment is strategic and what financial tools can support implementation,” AII wrote.
The white paper said developing reliable high-temperature heat pump technologies and optimizing factory steam demand can lower implementation barriers and increase the proportion of thermal demand covered.
“If we can successfully bridge the gap between today’s pilot projects and tomorrow’s industrial-scale deployment, high-temperature heat pumps have the potential to become a transformative decarbonization technology for the textile industry,” AII wrote.
