NEFI Project AHEAD Receives the dena Energy Award 2026

The NEFI project AHEAD (Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator) has been awarded the dena Energy Award 2026. The award is among the most prestigious recognitions for energy efficiency and climate protection in the German-speaking region, honouring projects that make a significant contribution to the energy transition through innovative technologies.

AHEAD impressed the jury in the category "Go smart! – Energy Efficiency through Technologies and Digitalisation." The project demonstrates how industrial process heat can be provided in a climate-friendly way through innovative heat pump technologies, thereby making an important contribution to the decarbonisation of industry.

Together, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, the biopharmaceutical manufacturer Takeda, and SPH Sustainable Process Heat (now part of Copeland) developed a high-temperature heat pump that was successfully demonstrated at Takeda’s production site in Vienna. The system generates process steam at temperatures of up to 184°C and makes use of waste heat from existing refrigeration systems. As a result, savings of up to 1,600 tonnes of CO₂ per year can be achieved.

AHEAD has demonstrated that the provision of high-temperature process steam without fossil fuels is feasible on an industrial scale. In doing so, the project not only supports climate protection but also increases resilience to volatile energy prices and strengthens the long-term competitiveness of Europe’s industrial sector.

The award highlights the importance of demonstration plants and the collaboration between research institutions and industry, both of which are key elements of NEFI as an innovation platform for industrial decarbonisation. Projects such as AHEAD showcase the significant potential of Austrian technological solutions in advancing the energy transition.

Further information about the AHEAD project is available here: AHEAD.