Heat pumps

Vicinity Energy is revolutionizing building heating by utilizing industrial-scale heat pumps to produce carbon-free eSteam™
mock up of heat pump complex in Vicinity Energy Kendall facility

Decarbonizing steam with industrial-scale heat pumps

Vicinity Energy is decarbonizing our district energy systems with plans to install industrial-scale heat pump complexes at our central facilities. The first proposed heat pump complex will be installed at our Cambridge, MA facility and enter service in several years.

How Vicinity is using heat pumps

Industrial-scale heat pump complexes will be installed where Vicinity Energy facilities are located near rivers and already employ water intake systems. They will extract heat from adjacent rivers to generate steam and improve overall efficiency.

industrial scale heat pump diagram

How heat pumps work

Learn more about how Vicinity’s future industrial-scale river-source heat pump complex will work once installed.  

diagram of how heat pumps work

1. Evaporator

River water is pumped into the evaporator to warm the cold refrigerant.

2. Heat pump compressor

Renewable electricity powers the compressor to pressurize the refrigerant.

3. Condenser

Hot, pressurized refrigerant creates low-pressure  carbon-free eSteam™ from feed water.

4. Steam compressor

A multi-stage compressor increases the eSteam™ pressure for distribution.

5. Expansion valve

The refrigerant is cooled and depressurized for the next cycle.

6. Evaporator

Cooled water is returned to the river, and the process repeats.

Get started with clean energy solutions

Reach out to our energy experts today to learn if carbon-free eSteam™ is the solution for your building.