Capturing and reusing the vast amounts of heat generated by industry could boost the UK’s competitiveness, according to the Royal Society.

A report published by the society, with support from Heriot-Watt University researchers, has revealed that industrial heating accounts for around 14% of UK emissions – but around half of the energy used in UK industry is lost as waste heat. If this heat was captured and reused rather than released, it could cut emissions, reduce operational costs for businesses and contribute towards net zero.

Professor Mercedes Maroto‑Valer OBE, deputy principal for global sustainability at Heriot‑Watt University, said: “This report shines a light on one of the UK’s most overlooked energy resources. Industrial waste heat is often treated as an inevitable by‑product, yet it represents a vast reservoir of untapped potential.”

Sectors that stand to benefit most from waste heat capture systems include steel, cement, glass and chemicals, where materials are often heated to temperatures of up to 2,000°C and then cooled. 

The report proposed an approach based on “heat cascades”: waste heat is captured at source from industrial processes and reused on-site where possible, then recaptured and shared across local industrial clusters, before being captured again to supply heat networks for homes and public buildings. By cutting out the extra energy otherwise needed to heat additional industries and buildings, heat cascades could significantly reduce emissions and ease the demand for renewables as heating is electrified. Heat-reuse systems could also be used in new industrial processes such as electrolytic hydrogen production, carbon capture and storage, and data centres, the report 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,” said Maroto-Valer. “This is a moment we cannot afford to miss.”

The technologies involved would comprise heat capture and exchange systems, heat networks capable of transporting energy at different temperatures, and thermal energy storage technologies. These would balance supply and demand, support energy resilience and enable more predictable operation of industrial sites.

Re-using heat at scale would require coordinated action between government, industry, regulators, communities and researchers, the report said.

Professor Andy Woods FRS, head of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows at the University of Cambridge and 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.

“As industry makes the switch from fossil fuels to cleaner alternatives, we have a huge window of opportunity to integrate systems to capture and reuse industrial waste heat into future infrastructure.”