From now on the public company Energetika Ljubljana is also using the excess heat from the company Lek for district heating.

The excess heat in the form of steam condensate which the company Lek, which is part of the Novartis group, is unable to use up in its processes, but its temperature is still high enough, is now transferred to Energetika Ljubljana and diverted into the district heating system.

Cooperating to lower CO2 emissions 

By using less fuel both partners facilitated a reduction of annual CO2 emissions by 1000 tonnes. The amount of the used heat suffices for heating or preparing domestic hot-water for about 300 apartments, and the water they are saving would fill up over 20 Olympic swimming pools. The project represents a new circular economy good practice in Ljubljana, connecting two different industries – pharmacy and energy.

The companies Energetika Ljubljana and Lek launched the project of transferring excess heat in the steam condensate form in the middle of March 2020, that is, right at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. The excess heat which the company Lek is unable to use up in its processes but is still of high enough temperature is now diverted into the district heating system managed by Energetika Ljubljana and delivered to customers for heating or preparing domestic hot-water. By transferring excess heat from Lek the need for its production has reduced and with it fuel consumption in the Energetika Ljubljana systems. At the same time both partners have cut down their water consumption, namely, Energetika Ljubljana by about 36,000 m3, which corelates to a volume of over 14 Olympic swimming pools, and 15,000 m3 of softened cooling water saved by Lek would fill over 6 Olympic swimming pools.

Reused excess heat is environment friendly as its production doesn’t additionally raise emissions, and at the same tame it enables reuse of energy which would otherwise be emitted into the environment. Since the trial launch the system has been successfully operating – Energetika Ljubljana is supplying approximately 300 apartments with the square surface of 70 m2 with the diverted excess heat, and both partners are contributing to a reduction of annual CO2 emissions by 1000 tonnes as they are using less fuel.

The idea to build a system for diverting excess heat into the district heating system dates back to 2018 when on the initiative of Lek expert groups of both companies met and started analysing available quantities and parameters of heat and the transfer point. The positive results of the analysis were followed by an agreement to start the project and in September 2019 the signing of the contract on connecting the supplier of excess heat to the heat distribution system and the transfer of heat.