FIRE 2024 : The technical forum consolidates its position as a key event for carbon-free process heat

The tenth edition of FIRE, co-organised by ALLICE and CETIAT, was held on 19 September at the Embarcadère, in Lyon.
For this anniversary event, FIRE marked a turning point by moving away from its original focus on industrial waste heat recovery.
For the first time, the programme covered all dimensions of heat and its decarbonisation through a broader theme: "Industrial heat: the challenges from production to recovery". 
It was a gamble that paid off, and one that attracted a huge turnout from the industry: the event was sold out, with over 250 people in attendance.

Profitability, impact on production, quality of end product: manufacturers share their views

Since it began, FIRE has focused its programming on sharing real-life cases. The experience feedback presented by the speakers and the questions raised in the audience covered the key aspects of a decarbonisation project: 

• How to combine low carbon heat with a high-quality end product? 
• How can heat be decarbonised without affecting the overall operation of the plant?
• How to identify prioritised heat decarbonisation actions at site level?

The presence of a large number of manufacturers from a wide range of sectors and their first-hand accounts provided some enlightening answers. Among the feedback presented:

• The installation of a biomass boiler at the Sodiaal group's Port-Sur-Saône site, which covers 50-60% of its carbon-free heat requirements.
• The concentrated solar power plant deployed by Azteq for Heineken in Seville, which provides continuous hot water at 150°C.
• The efficient use of heat in a painting process at John Deere, or how to rethink the organisation to save energy?
• Coretec's recovery of waste heat from glass furnace fumes at Fysol, saving 2,500 tonnes of CO2 per year.
• Using the heat from the kiln fumes to preheat the air in the tilting mill at Terreal / weinerberger, by CLEIA to reduce its CO2 emissions by 15
  
• The TransPAC project: testing a high-performance industrial heat pump in the paper sector, at WEPA by Dalkia.

The prospects opened up by heat pumps in industry, the Pinch methodology and funding possibilities were also discussed.  

Participants praise a rich exchange of ideas

In addition to the commitment shown by manufacturers to decarbonise their heat, participants also appreciated the quality of the discussions during the breaks*. Many of them were able to make new business contacts this day.

Our ten sponsors highlighted the quality of the interaction on their stands, demonstrating FIRE's ability to bring together the right audience to encourage the emergence of projects.

They talk about it better than we do! Feedback from our participants*:

'I was able to make a number of highly motivating contacts.’
'I enjoyed the opportunity to meet lots of new contacts and see old ones again.’ 
'I enjoyed talking to committed and sincere industrial players.’
'The participants are of the highest quality!’

The technical nature of the presentations and the discussions between the participants confirmed FIRE as a place where industry players can take the decisions they need to encourage innovation and action. 



* source: FIRE 2024 satisfaction questionnaires