Industry Urged to Cut Emissions and Costs by Reusing Wasted Heat
•January 30, 2026
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Why It Matters
Reusing industrial waste heat directly reduces emissions while delivering significant cost savings, accelerating both climate goals and industrial competitiveness.
Key Takeaways
- •Industrial heating = 14% UK emissions.
- •Half of industrial energy lost as waste heat.
- •Heat cascades can reuse high‑temp waste on site.
- •Savings could cut costs and electricity demand.
- •New sources (hydrogen, CCUS, data centres) increase demand.
Pulse Analysis
The scale of thermal loss in UK manufacturing is staggering: about 50% of the energy input dissipates as low‑grade heat, a hidden cost that inflates utility bills and fuels emissions. While the sector already faces pressure to decarbonise, waste‑heat capture offers a low‑hanging fruit that can be deployed alongside electrification and fuel switching. By converting excess heat into useful energy—whether for pre‑heating raw materials, powering turbines, or feeding district‑heating networks—companies can improve overall plant efficiency and shrink their carbon footprints without major process overhauls.
Heat‑cascade technology lies at the heart of the proposed solution. In a cascade, high‑temperature waste from processes like steel rolling or cement kilns is sequentially transferred to lower‑temperature applications, creating a tiered energy ecosystem within industrial parks. This approach not only maximises the value extracted from each heat source but also facilitates cross‑industry sharing, allowing nearby facilities to tap surplus thermal energy that would otherwise be vented. Emerging heat streams from hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage (CCUS) units, and data‑centre cooling further expand the pool of recoverable energy, making integrated thermal networks increasingly viable.
Policy and investment play decisive roles in scaling these systems. The report urges the UK government to embed waste‑heat considerations into planning permissions, provide incentives for retrofitting existing plants, and develop standards for heat‑exchange infrastructure. By treating waste heat as a national resource, regulators can unlock billions of pounds in savings, reduce reliance on electricity during peak demand, and reinforce the country’s net‑zero commitments. Early adoption also mitigates the risk of lock‑in to legacy technologies that are incompatible with future circular‑energy models.
Industry urged to cut emissions and costs by reusing wasted heat
UK industry could unlock major energy savings by capturing and reusing waste heat, according to a new report from the Royal Society.
Industrial heating accounts for around 14% of UK emissions, while around half of the energy used in UK industry is lost as waste heat. The report argues this energy could be reused instead of being released into the environment.
The report, Unlocking thermal energy: Capture, storage and re-use of industrial waste heat, sets out how thermal energy reuse could cut emissions, reduce operational costs and accelerate progress towards net zero.
Heat losses are particularly high in energy intensive sectors such as steel, cement, glass and chemicals. These industries often heat materials to temperatures of up to 2,000°C before cooling them, releasing large volumes of thermal energy.
Professor Mercedes Maroto-Valer OBE, Deputy Principal for Global Sustainability at Heriot-Watt University and Director of IDRIC, said: “Industrial waste heat is often treated as an inevitable by-product, yet it represents a vast reservoir of untapped potential.”
She added: “The findings make clear that if we design our future infrastructure with fuel switching and thermal efficiency in mind, the UK can accelerate its journey to net zero while strengthening industrial competitiveness.”
The report proposes a national approach based on heat cascades. High temperature waste heat could be reused on site, shared across industrial clusters and eventually supplied to heat networks serving homes and public buildings.
This approach could reduce the need for additional energy while easing pressure on electricity demand as heating becomes increasingly electrified.
New waste heat sources from hydrogen production, carbon capture and data centres will further increase the need for integrated systems.
Professor Andy Woods FRS, lead author of the report, said: “If the UK is serious about reaching net zero, dealing with the vast amounts of industrial waste heat needs to be integrated into decarbonisation strategies now, and not as an afterthought.”
The report warns that failing to act now could lock in technologies incompatible with future heat reuse. It calls for coordinated action across government, industry and regulators to treat waste heat as a valuable national resource.
The post Industry urged to cut emissions and costs by reusing wasted heat appeared first on Energy Live News.
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