We are delighted to announce that Newheat’s LACTOSOL project in Verdun, France, has been honored with the prestigious SHC Solar Award by the Solar Heating and Cooling Technology Collaboration Programme (SHC TCP) under the International Energy Agency (IEA). The award was presented today at the Eurosun conference.
This biennial award focused this year on the theme of Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP). Out of 18 global applications, five projects were shortlisted, including two from our members—Newheat and SOLID Solar Energy Systems GmbH.
The LACTOSOL project, which supplies heat to a site of the Lactalis Ingredients Group—one of the world’s largest dairy companies—is the largest solar heat project of its kind in France. The project significantly reduces the CO2 emissions of the site’s drying tower by 2,000 tons annually, equivalent to 7% of the site’s total emissions. It delivers approximately 8,000 MWh of heat each year through a 15,000 m² solar thermal collector area, provided by our member Meriaura Energy, and a 3,000 m³ storage tank. For more information on this project and the other shortlisted SHIP projects, please visit the IEA SHC website (links provided in the first comment).
With 60% of industrial energy needs related to heat, and half of those heat requirements being below 400°C—temperatures that can be efficiently met by various solar heat technologies such as non-concentrated, PVT, or concentrated collectors—this award underscores the immense potential of solar heat for industrial applications. We are confident that this recognition will highlight the value of our ready-to-deploy, European-made technology in helping industries achieve their ESG targets.