An integrated approach to sustainable process heat

Alural treats aluminium profiles using various heat-intensive processes, including pre-treatment baths, anodising baths, drying ovens and muffle furnaces. To structurally reduce its Scope 1 emissions, the company investigated various options such as electrification, heat pumps and heat recovery.

The challenge lay not in identifying individual technologies, but in determining how these influence one another. After all, investments in a single installation have a direct impact on the optimal solution for other processes, the required electrical connection and the future scalability of the entire site.

A single integrated roadmap for the entire thermal management system

Encon first mapped out the existing heat management system and the main sources of emissions. In addition to analysing the process baths, drying ovens, muffle furnaces and building heating systems, energy efficiency measures were also examined, such as additional insulation, optimisation of airflows, improvements to process baths and correction of the power factor to reduce grid costs.

Encon then carried out a comprehensive technology screening. Solutions such as direct heat recovery, industrial waste heat, air-to-water and water-to-water heat pumps, high-temperature and booster heat pumps, hybrid electrification, green gas and geothermal energy were assessed from both a technical and economic perspective. Technologies deemed less suitable or not yet sufficiently market-ready were excluded, with clear justification, so that the further analysis could focus on the most promising scenarios.

For each type of installation, Encon then developed the most suitable solutions and produced first-order estimates of investment costs, energy consumption, CO₂ costs, maintenance, subsidies, capacity tariffs and the impact on the electricity connection. The opportunities to monetise flexibility through dynamic energy contracts and flexibility markets were also taken into account.

Encon’s greatest added value lay in bringing all the technical analyses together into a single integrated decision-making framework. Without this approach, there was a risk that individual investments would not align optimally with one another at a later stage, resulting in heat pumps being incorrectly sized, available residual heat remaining underutilised, or additional grid reinforcement proving necessary. Thanks to the roadmap, Alural now has a coherent investment strategy in which the entire heat management system, future expansions, energy prices, CO₂ costs, subsidies and technological maturity are weighed up collectively.

Well-founded choices for a phased transition to sustainability

The study resulted in a concrete implementation plan comprising various phases. For the different production processes, several sustainability scenarios were examined and assessed in terms of their technical feasibility, energy impact and economic potential. This involved both optimisations of existing processes and alternative energy and heating technologies.

The analysis makes it clear that not every application can be made as sustainable as possible at this stage. A phased approach was therefore adopted, whereby measures with the greatest potential and best feasibility can be implemented first, whilst a step-by-step transition is planned for other processes. This allows Alural to become more sustainable at a pace that takes account of both technological progress and economic realities.

The study also demonstrates that the current electrical connection is likely to support an initial phase of sustainability improvements. Should the scheme be rolled out further across multiple production lines, an additional grid study will be required. As a result, Alural not only has an overview of potential technologies, but, more importantly, a strategic roadmap that prioritises investments, mitigates risks and paves the way for cost-effective decarbonisation of the entire production environment.

In this way, the greening scan translates sustainability into tangible business value: more targeted investments, reduced implementation risk and a more efficient path towards the SBTi targets.