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Fraunhofer ISE’s 7 October 2026 announcement describes a laboratory test stand that can measure high-temperature heat pumps supplying process steam at temperatures up to 160 °C. It is a research capability—not evidence that a commercial heat pump or an industrial plant is already producing steam at that temperature.
Can an industrial heat pump produce steam at 160 °C?
Heat pumps can be relevant to industrial processes in this temperature range, but the 160 °C figure in Fraunhofer ISE’s announcement refers to the measurement capability of its new test stand. It does not establish that every industrial heat pump can provide steam at that temperature, or identify a commercially available model that does so.
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The announcement gives no thermal capacity, coefficient of performance (COP), emissions reduction, cost, or operating-hour total for the test-stand work. Temperature alone therefore cannot show how efficiently or reliably a system would meet a particular plant’s process requirements.
What did Fraunhofer ISE demonstrate?
Under the collaborative FernWP project, Fraunhofer ISE built a laboratory test stand for investigating high-temperature heat pumps for process heat and district heating. Its measurements can cover heat pumps supplying process steam up to 160 °C and pressurized hot water. The work is research into system performance and operation, not a report of a deployed 160 °C commercial installation. Fraunhofer ISE’s 7 October 2026 announcement describes the test stand and project.
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Why the project is investigating butane
The current investigations focus on heat pumps using butane as the refrigerant. Because butane is flammable, the research also needs to address safety and installation questions. The refrigerant is one part of a larger system-design problem; the announcement does not present a finished product specification.
Why five district-heating installations are a separate finding
The same release reports monitoring five large heat pumps in district-heating networks, which provided operating insights about sizing and operational management. Those monitored network installations are distinct from the 160 °C laboratory test-stand work; the number five does not describe test-stand units or industrial steam plants.
What determines whether high-temperature heat pumps suit a process?
A system has to deliver the required steam or pressurized hot water efficiently and reliably as heat sources, process loads, and operating modes vary. Fraunhofer ISE identifies the interaction of the heat source, refrigerant, heat exchanger, hydraulic integration, controls, safety provisions, and operating strategy as important. Its conclusion about reliable operation is conditional: components, controls, integration, and operating strategy must be appropriately designed and implemented.
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In a translation of her German statement, FernWP project lead and Fraunhofer ISE Senior Engineer Dr. Ursula Wittstadt said that maximum temperature is not the only decisive factor for industrial use; a high-temperature heat pump must also supply process steam or pressurized hot water efficiently and reliably as heat sources, loads, and operating modes change. The translation conveys the point of her statement rather than presenting English as her original wording.
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For an actual plant assessment, the relevant questions include:
- Does the system provide the required steam conditions or pressurized hot water at the process boundary?
- Is a suitable heat source available at the required temperature and throughout the operating schedule?
- What efficiency does the system achieve at the plant’s actual source, delivery, and load conditions?
- Can it meet the required capacity and respond to changing loads?
- What refrigerant, safety measures, and installation arrangements are required?
- How will it integrate hydraulically and operationally with existing equipment and controls?
- What evidence supports its reliability and availability over time?
- How does the local electricity-to-gas price ratio affect operating economics?
How does this fit into wider industrial heat-pump research?
Fraunhofer ISE’s separate IndHP2Chem project investigates integrating high-temperature heat pumps above 130 °C into chemical production. Its stated topics include efficiency and economic viability, technical integration, long-term stability, availability, and control behavior. The project page identifies Evonik Operations GmbH as a partner and gives a September 2024 to August 2028 project duration. This is related work, not evidence that the FernWP test stand supplies a chemical plant. See the IndHP2Chem project page.
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In a separate 6 November 2025 report, Fraunhofer ISE said industrial heat pumps could supply temperatures of 100–200 °C for many manufacturing processes and identified the electricity-to-gas price ratio as an important indicator of economic operation. The report also noted that scientifically supported reference projects can help establish confidence in reliable industrial heat supply. These broader observations provide context; they are not performance results for the 160 °C test stand. Read Fraunhofer ISE’s report.
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Which performance figures belong to a different demonstration?
A Fraunhofer ISI policy brief from 2024 discusses a separate food-industry drying demonstration involving two 400 kW high-temperature heat pumps being tested for process heat up to 160 °C. It cites a COP of up to 4.7 for that separate demonstration; the systems were being tested, so the figure should not be treated as a result for Fraunhofer ISE’s FernWP test stand. The brief is available from Fraunhofer ISI.
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