CASCADE is part of the NEFI – New Energy for Industry model region that positions the decarbonization of the industry in the center of a long-term innovation process to boost technological development.

Industrial energy use accounts for approx. 29% of the final energy use. To successfully tackle the decarbonisation of industry as envisaged by NEFI, geothermal energy will play a decisive role in this transformation process due to its versatile application possibilities - heating/cooling, power generation and heat storage.

Source: BMK, Energie in Österreich	Source: Eigene Darstellung, Daten von Statistik Austria

Objectives

The CASCADE project aims to evaluate deep and near-surface geothermal resources in three areas in Upper Austria - Steyr, Gmunden and St. Martin im Mühlkreis - in order to analyse the feasibility of supplying heat to the four partners involved, i.e. the industrial partners - Gmundner Molkerei and Brauerei Hofstetten - and the district heating networks of the two municipalities of Steyr and Gmunden.

The core element is the development of a concept for cascading utilization: deep, i.e. high-temperature geothermal energy for industry and the district heating networks, followed by the utilization of medium to low-temperature residual heat for residential and commercial purposes.

The task of EVT is to determine the energy requirements and excess heat of the industrial companies in Gmunden and St. Martin, the possible solar PV generation on the roofs of the industry and the analysis of the industrial partners with regard to energy requirements, excess heat potential and efficiency potential.

Project results:

In addition to other objectives in the CASCADE project, the EVT’s first objective is to verify the suitability of the Gmunden dairy for the integration of geothermal energy for the supply of the processes (this applies also for other industries). The second objective is to determine the available excess heat potential (on all investigated temperature levels) from the plants for further cascade utilisation in the existing district heating network of the city of Gmunden as well as a possible supply to other companies, but perhaps for internal use. To analyse the energy flows in the plants, a distinction is made between bottom-up and top-down approaches. In the case of the Gmunden dairy, the bottom-up method is used to analyse all energy streams using time-resolved measurement data and thus identify energy consumption as well as possible excess heat streams. For the other companies the top-down approach is applied. In this case key figures from literature or derived from statistical data (e.g. energy consumption per employee) are used to determine the overall energy consumption of the companies. Key figures from the literature or from our own calculations of similar industrial sectors are used to determine excess heat.

The work on the energy situation of the plants has not yet been finalised. The analysis of the Gmunden dairy includes different parts of the plant. To date, the CIP system (cleaning in place), VTIS installation for continuous UHT treatment with direct steam injection, the two cheese dairies and the thickening of whey have been analysed. Other systems to be analysed are the steam generation, the air compressors, the refrigeration systems and the wastewater flows.

In addition to the dairy, further 10 industrial and trade companies with more than 20 employees were identified and analysed on the basis of the top-down approach. Energy demand and excess heat potentials are calculated using the top-down approach described above based on the available number of employees. The excess heat can also be categorised into temperature classes by comparing it with similar companies that have already been analysed.

Project Partners:

Project CASCADE is part of the innovation network NEFI (New Energy for Industry), which is facing the energy transition through technology development together with the Austrian industry.

This project is funded by the FFG Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mbH and carried out within the program as part of the 4th call for proposals of the “Vorzeigeregion Energie” programme.