You might not expect to hear Greek philosophy cited at an event focused on the future of steam. However, the opening keynote, delivered by Cormac Hanly, Lead Sector and Insights Manager at Steam Thermal Solutions, did just that.
Aristotle’s concept of achieving something great through excellence, however difficult the challenge, eudaemonia, was used to highlight the role engineers will need to play in decarbonising industry. It will not be easy, and it will not happen overnight. But determination to succeed, innovate and overcome obstacles is what will ultimately lead to that sense of fulfilment.
As part of the wider Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection Conference, more than 200 participants spent the day hearing about the latest developments in thermal energy.
Several morning sessions focused on high-temperature heat pump technology, highlighting growing industrial interest in practical electrification pathways. This emerging field is often presented as an easy decarbonisation answer, but the reality is more complex.
The afternoon presentations followed a keynote from Dave Forte, Head of Global Strategic Business at Steam Thermal Solutions. Echoing the morning theme, he stressed that decoupling steam production from fossil fuels is a major challenge. The positive message is that companies are collaborating towards the same goal. By testing new technologies, sharing best practices and learning from failures, momentum is building.
Searching beyond the obvious was another theme throughout the sessions. One talk discussed research into recovering valuable heat from radiative waste heat in the ceramic industry, the EU’s second most energy-intensive process after cement.
Other sessions explored the technological and commercial readiness of thermal energy storage in industrial steam applications, how to handle scaling in plate heat exchangers, and advances in removing background noise when digitally monitoring steam equipment.
Matt Candy, CEO of Steamology, closed the day by sharing progress on a patented application that combusts hydrogen and oxygen to create clean, green steam, combined with proven steam engineering.
As with any emerging decarbonisation technology, the challenge remains scalability, cost and integration with existing industrial processes. When those barriers are overcome through purposeful engineering, that eudaemonic satisfaction may finally be reached.