Star Refrigeration participates in groundbreaking research led by LSBU to map and assess waste heat potential in cities

LONDON, April 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Refrigeration has joined forces with leading academic and industry partners on a groundbreaking new project aimed at unlocking the potential of waste heat from cooling systems in cities. The Waste Heat Assessment and Resource Mapping (WHARM) initiative, led by London South Bank University (LSBU), focuses on identifying and mapping waste heat from energy-intensive applications in Birmingham, with a view to enabling its reuse and driving urban decarbonisation.

The WHARM project, funded by the EPSRC through the Reef-UKC network, will produce a georeferenced database on energy-intensive sectors such as data centres, supermarkets, cold storage facilities and industrial sites to better understand their waste heat generation and the potential for reuse on site or "export" to neighbours. EPSRC is a funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK, supporting innovations that drive a sustainable and resilient economy. Reef-UKC is a research network focused on integrating renewable energy with clean cooling technologies, aiming to improve energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact through system-level research and sustainable business models.

Dave Pearson, Star Refrigeration's Group Sustainable Development Director and Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University, said:
"We often hear off the cuff remarks about how much waste heat there is, but what we really need to know is a more granular level or place, quantity, quality, and cleanliness so we can advise on whether to boost it back up on site with industrial heat pumps or make available to neighbours to use in district heat networks. Just like materials recycling we hope to define a value basis for waste heat so it could even be sold."

WHARM is a collaboration between LSBU, Aston University, Birmingham City Council, Star Refrigeration, and Skilled Mapping. The project aims to support businesses and local authorities in making evidence-based decisions to capture, upgrade, and distribute waste heat in a way that contributes to net zero goals.

Project Objectives:

• Identify, map and characterise waste heat from cooling systems in Birmingham.
• Produce economic models to quantify the levelised costs of capturing and upgrading waste heat to different temperature levels.
• Engage with stakeholders to identify challenges such as high costs, uncertainty over business models, and mismatch between heat supply and demand.
• Support local authorities and businesses in making informed decisions when assessing waste heat opportunities.

Dr Henrique Lagoeiro, Research Fellow at LSBU and project lead, said:
"The WHARM project is a great initiative bringing together industry leaders and academics to provide a blueprint on how to approach waste heat with data, ultimately building knowledge that can support the decarbonisation of our cities and industries."

Star Refrigeration's participation in WHARM reflects its ongoing commitment to sustainable innovation and collaboration with universities, local authorities, and like-minded organisations in advancing practical solutions for carbon reduction across the UK.

About LSBU:
London South Bank University (LSBU), one of the largest universities in the UK, is committed to research and teaching. We've been educating professional engineers for more than 125 years. That history lays a rock-solid foundation for today's School of Engineering, where amazing facilities, academic excellence and cutting-edge research combine to create an exciting, dynamic environment. Our key areas of research include health, bioengineering and energy, with a focus on vital sustainable energy. Early in 2020, in partnership with Islington Council and Transport for London, we launched a revolutionary smart energy grid, GreenSCIES, which aims to deliver affordable, low carbon energy by connecting flexible electricity demands to intermittent renewable energy sources.

The Heating and Cooling team at LSBU has a 30-year history of attracting high impact research projects and contracts from EPSRC, Government, the EU and the RACHP (refrigeration air conditioning and heat pump industry). 

About Aston University:
For over a century, Aston University's enduring purpose has been to make our world a better place through education, research, and innovation, by enabling our students to succeed in work and life, and by supporting our communities to thrive economically, socially and culturally.

Aston University's history has been intertwined with the history of Birmingham, a remarkable city that once was the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. Born out of the First Industrial Revolution, Aston University has a proud and distinct heritage dating back to our formation as the School of Metallurgy in 1875, the first UK College of Technology in 1951, gaining university status by Royal Charter in 1966, and becoming The Guardian University of the Year in 2020.

Building on our outstanding past, we are now defining our place and role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.

About Star Refrigeration:
Founded in 1970, Star Refrigeration is the UK's leading industrial refrigeration and heating company, delivering sustainable solutions across multiple industries. Over the years, the company has expanded into a multi-faceted engineering group, providing expertise in renewables, consultancy, and AI-driven data monitoring and optimisation. Landmark district heat pump projects include England's largest high-temperature water source heat pump in Bristol City and Scotland's largest water source district heat pump at Queens Quay, West Dunbartonshire. These projects earned international recognition, including the European Heat Pump Association's Heat Pump City of the Year award and the International Energy Agency's prestigious Rittinger Medal.

About Skilled Mapping
Skilled Mapping is a global leader in geospatial project management, providing innovative solutions for multinational companies across the USA, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the UK. The company's journey began in commercial airship operations and evolved through expertise in geospatial technology and thermal imaging. Skilled mapping is currently training an AI model on their database involving 33 million thermal images comprising over 500,000 homes across three different countries.

About Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It provides the majority of local government services in the city, serving over 1.1 million people, which makes it the most populous local government district in England. Birmingham City Council͛ aims to reduce carbon emissions, and district heating plays a pivotal role in that ambition. The existing Birmingham District Energy Scheme provides low-carbon heat, cooling and power to connected buildings. The award-winning scheme boasts a mixture of tri-generation and co-generation energy centres supplying Council buildings, Aston University, Birmingham New Street Station, and the Birmingham Children's Hospital amongst other users, delivering 15,000 tCO2 per annum.

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SOURCE Star Refrigeration