One step ahead: Takeda relies on industrial heat pumps for steam generation in the AHEAD project
Photo © Takeda
The Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda operates in 80 countries worldwide — including Austria’s capital Vienna, where around 3,000 employees work in research and development, plasma collection, production, and patient services. The Vienna production site focuses on the manufacture of plasma-derived medicines used to treat rare and complex diseases. As in nearly every company in the chemical and pharmaceutical sector, energy demand is high — particularly when it comes to the generation of process heat, steam, and cooling.
High standards in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry
Heat and steam: Heat pump system significantly reduces natural gas consumption
Chemical intermediates and finished pharmaceuticals must be cooled on the one hand, while on the other, Takeda’s production processes require heat and steam for biochemical reactions and sterilization. Until recently, Takeda covered its heat demand at one of its largest sites in Vienna using natural gas — but that is changing this year: As part of the AHEAD Project (Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator), initiated jointly by Takeda and the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, SPH serves as the manufacturer and supplier of a high-temperature industrial heat pump for steam generation, which significantly reduces natural gas consumption.
Across Europe, pharmaceutical manufacturers have so far relied almost exclusively on natural gas to meet their process heat demand. Takeda, however, aims to demonstrate that effective and high-performance alternatives to fossil fuels are already both technically and economically viable today: “We are convinced that a healthy planet is the foundation for healthy lives. Therefore, we have set ambitious environmental targets for more sustainable pharmaceutical production, including achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across our entire value chain by 2040,” explains Maria Löflund, Management Board Member of Takeda Austria and Head of the Vienna production sites. “AHEAD is an important step on this path, as this research project demonstrates that we can reduce emissions by 80 percent at one of our sites through innovative technology and natural refrigerants. It will serve as a model for other Takeda locations and as a showcase for the entire pharmaceutical industry and beyond.”
Process steam generation for the biopharmaceutical industry: Takeda chooses the Thermbooster™
The goal was to replace fossil fuels such as natural gas in process heat generation, significantly reduce CO2 emissions, and thus lower the carbon footprint at one of Takeda’s largest production sites in Vienna by up to 80 percent. The conditions at Takeda were already promising: a CO2-free energy center for centralized cooling was already in operation in Vienna. The facility operates with 100 percent natural refrigerants, and the waste heat from the cooling process provides an ideal basis for heat recovery. A pre-existing heat pump further raises this waste heat to 65 – 70 °C, supplying hot water for space heating at the site.
The Thermbooster™ system, described by Takeda as the core component of the AHEAD project, builds upon this: it uses the existing hot water system as a heat source and upgrades it in a crucial step. The high-temperature heat pump utilizes the hot water as its source to produce steam at approximately 115 °C. A subsequent steam compressor increases the steam pressure to 11 bar(a), achieving a saturation temperature of 184 °C – a typical level required in biopharmaceutical production. The compressor can further raise this to 200°C, generating either saturated or superheated steam. Without further development, the system can be scaled to deliver temperatures between 200 and 260°C.
The plant produces around 2.5 tons of hot steam per hour, equivalent to a thermal output of 1.7 MW. This allows Takeda to reduce CO2 emissions at one of its largest Vienna sites by up to 80 percent and enables almost CO2 -free steam generation for approximately seven months of the year. In total, the system saves up to 1,600 tons of CO2 annually. The Thermbooster™ at Takeda uses the natural refrigerants butane and water, with Global Warming Potentials (GWP) of 0.006 (butane) and 0 (water), making them extremely climate-friendly. They are also PFAS-free, ensuring a particularly sustainable and future-proof solution. Likewise, the refrigerants used in Takeda’s existing cooling system have a GWP of 0.
Thermbooster™ at Takeda Vienna: project and system overview
Commissioning:
09/2025
Heat Source:
Hot water from waste heat recovery of the centralized cooling plant
Heat source temperature:
70 °C (supply) / 65 °C (return)
Heat Sink Medium:
Steam
Heat Sink Temperature:
90/115 °C at 1.67 bar(a) | 184 °C at 11 bar(a)
Refrigerant:
Butane
Electrical Input Power:
300 kW | 372 kW
Heating Capacity:
1,270 kW | 1,561 kW
COP:
4.3 | 2.3
Projected CO2 Savings:
1,600 t CO2/year
Thermbooster™ to drive decarbonization across other industrial sectors
The AHEAD research project, jointly implemented by Takeda and the AIT, was funded under the “NEFI – New Energy for Industry” initiative by the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund, supported by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure. The project includes the development of a concept for implementing the Thermbooster™ system at additional Takeda sites in Austria and worldwide, as well as in other industrial sectors. The Thermbooster™ demonstrates the decarbonization potential of SPH’s heat pump technology for industries with high process heat and steam demand — including the paper, chemical, and food industries.
The AHEAD project has already received the Net-Zero Industries Award 2023 from the global Mission Innovation – Net-Zero Industries initiative, which honors solutions that accelerate the deployment of industrial decarbonization technologies. Selected from nearly 70 entries by an independent international expert jury, AHEAD won the national award in the category “Outstanding Projects“. The project was also presented at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) and is being featured in the Austrian Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
SPH is proud to contribute as a technology developer, supplier, and consortium partner, helping to drive the transformation toward climate-neutral and economically sustainable process heat supply.
