Two British universities have joined with one of the UK’s largest city councils and two commercial companies to map and assess waste heat potential in cities. The Waste Heat Assessment and Resource Mapping (WHARM) initiative is led by London South Bank University (LSBU), and includes Aston University, Birmingham City Council, Star Refrigeration and Skilled Mapping. It’s aim is to drive urban decarbonisation by developing methods and processes for mapping waste heat and enabling its reuse.

The WHARM project, funded by the EPSRC through the Reef-UKC network, will produce a geo-referenced 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.

The project aims to identify, map and characterise waste heat from cooling systems in Birmingham. It will produce economic models to quantify the levelised costs of capturing and upgrading waste heat to different temperature levels. Engagement with stakeholders will identify challenges such as high costs, uncertainty over business models, and mismatch between heat supply and demand. The project will also 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.”

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.”