Croatia’s Viktor Lenac Shipyard aims to replace Electric boilers and water-to-water heat pumps with seawater heat pumps to heat and cool buildings. The pilot project is funded by the EU and has launched a tender to support the construction of a seawater heat pump.
The goal of the EU-funded seawater heat pump project is to replace the existing water-to-water heat pump and Sähkökattilat with a new heat pump that uses seawater as a heating source. The required power of the existing system is 280 kW, of which 100 kW is produced by the water heat pump.
“The existing heat pump takes heat energy from the process water, which is still used in the flow system to maintain a temperature of at least 3 C, but due to the high cost of the process water license fee, the heat operation takes place. The pump is not economically viable and not energy efficient enough, which represents the problem that the project aims to solve”, VLS explained the project on the website.
According to VLS, the main advantage of the new heat pump is the relatively constant temperature of the seawater all year round.
“Due to the more favorable temperature parameters of seawater compared to process water, the heat coefficient of the seawater heat pump is high,” says VLS.
VLS recently launched a tender to find companies to provide preparatory services to support the design and technical documentation needed for the construction of a seawater heat pump. The deadline for proposals is February 24, 2023. The estimated value of the contract is 30 million euros ($32 million).
The installation of the seawater heat pump is expected to reduce electricity consumption by 155,872 kWh/year and CO2 emissions by 36,600 kg/year. The estimated total value of the project is 480 million euros, and it is supported by 233 million euros in grants from the Croatian Ministry of Regional Development and the European Union. Development started in June 2022 and the project is expected to be completed by March 31, 2024.
