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Heat pump retrofi t cuts Schiphol airport gas use by 625,000m³


LOW CARBON BUILDINGS In addition to the fi ve Trane RTSF units, one Trane


a year


A modular heat pump solution, combined with thermal energy storage, has enabled Schipol Airport in The Netherlands to deliver low-carbon heating and cooling across multiple buildings—cutting gas consumption by 625,000m³ a year and supporting its ambition to be fully off the gas grid by 2030.


was needed for two nearby buildings without their own TES. The Outlook offi ce building still relied on gas-fi red boilers and chillers for heating and cooling.


Solution T


he airport, which set a challenge to achieve sustainable heating and cooling for its offi ce buildings, terminals, and piers, uses Thermal


Energy Storage (TES) systems, which store thermal energy underground. New buildings are equipped with TES, and existing buildings are transitioning away from gas, leading to signifi cant reductions in CO2 emissions. A collective TES was designed for the Schiphol Building (SHG), Outlook 1 and 2, and Avioport. This required connecting heat pumps and dry coolers to the three buildings via underground pipes, with each building having its own heat pump station. A solution


In preparation for the central TES project, four Trane City RTSF heat pumps were installed in the Schiphol building a few years ago, initially operating with the old sources. For The Outlook’s heat pump system, fi ve Trane


City RTSF 110 heat pumps with refrigerant R1234ze (<1 GWP) were installed. These heat pumps are compact and modular, making sustainability possible in challenging locations. Paul Varekamp, project leader at technical service


provider Equans stated: “At the entrance of The Outlook’s parking basement, we only had a few centimetres of clearance. A larger size unit than the Trane City RTSF would not have been possible.”


1 MW CHP upgrade at Norfolk


and Norwich University Hospital A challenging Combined Heat and Power (CHP) upgrade has been completed at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, a 1,200 bed Private Finance Initiative (PFI) NHS hospital


W


orking closely with the hospital FM provider Serco, on behalf of Octagon Healthcare, the team from Finning UK & Ireland was able to


overcome strict space limitations while maintaining 24/7 operations at the busy hospital. Having reached the end of its lifecycle, the previous Cat CHP unit, installed by Finning over 20 years ago, was replaced with a CG170-12 12-cylinder engine. Chosen for both its thermal and electrical properties, the new natural gas engine produces 1MW of electrical power and recovers heat from exhaust gases to reduce onsite boiler usage, making it an economic and effi cient solution that supports the NHS’s drive for carbon reduction initiatives coming with the additional benefi t of a hydrogen ready engine. Roger Perkins, project manager for Serco Group


Plc., explained: “Space restrictions on site meant that we needed a new generator that could fi t the existing acoustic enclosure, and for the complete CHP system to remain within the same footprint, and importantly, integrating into the existing heating and electrical infrastructure.”


Exergy P30 industrial heat pump was also installed in the parking basement. Mr Varekamp explained: “Some installations in The Outlook buildings needed 70°C water. Replacement would have caused too much disruption for tenants, therefore, we installed a small Trane Exergy to boost the water from the RTSFs to 70°C where needed.” The new sustainable thermal system of The Outlook can simultaneously provide heating and cooling in diff erent parts of the building if desired. The old chillers in the parking basement were replaced by heat pumps, with existing gas boilers remaining on standby to assist if needed. Mr Varekamp noted: “If you consider weather


extremes when selecting a thermal energy storage system, you get an unnecessarily large and expensive system. How often does it get below -10°C in the Netherlands? The heat pumps will likely always meet the heat demand.”


Results


At the end of January 2025, in the middle of winter, The Outlook offi ce building switched to the renewed source system and its own heat pump solution. With the collective TES for three buildings, Schiphol saves approximately 625,000 m3 of natural gas per year. The airport aims to have all of its buildings off the gas grid by 2030, using thermal energy storage systems in new constructions and phasing out gas in existing premises


confi ned area without impacting the day-to-day running of the hospital, which was critical to our customer.” Richard Atherden, project manager for Finning


UK & Ireland, said: “We stripped out the existing CHP plant, including the pumps, heat exchangers, exhaust silencers, control panel – the whole system basically – taking it back down to just the container. From there we installed the new generator into the existing housing and then built the system back up from scratch on site. There were some elements that we assembled off site to minimise disruption, such as the pumps, but most of it was done in-situ to ensure it all fi tted within the tight confi nes of the existing footprint.” Off site hot works helped reduce onsite permit


With all work taking place in and around the


hospital’s busy loading bay, the upgrade work was made even more challenging due to crucial health and safety considerations alongside the need to maintain 24/7 hospital operations. Mr Perkins continued: “The Finning team worked


closely with us to ensure minimum disruption for goods in and out of the hospital, utilising a crane lift within the loading bay area to deliver the generator in-situ. They managed the welding and commissioning of the CHP unit to fi t within the


requirements and safety issues and ensured continued hospital operation. The new system was then commissioned to G99 certifi cation, with a specialist contractor brought in to test it with relay injection, proving the trip points open the breaker and demonstrating safety for connecting the generator to the grid. “By investing in a new generator and using the


expertise from Finning, we’ve not only been able to maintain 24/7 operation of the hospital but also improve energy effi ciency and running costs,” Mr Perkins continued. “The new system is now up and running and Finning has been contracted for 10 years of ongoing service and maintenance to ensure continued smooth running of the system and an optimised lifespan, maintaining a longstanding commercial relationship.”


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