The SteamDry project has joined the 2COOL2WASTE cluster, a network of Horizon Europe projects collaborating to accelerate sustainable heating and cooling technologies across Europe. Through this step, the project positions its superheated steam drying (SSD) innovation within a wider portfolio of solutions for waste heat recovery, industrial decarbonisation and energy efficiency.
The 2COOL2WASTE cluster currently gathers 15 Horizon Europe projects: EEETHOS, EXQUISHEAT, GEOSYN, HEATWISE, HyCool-IT, I-UPS, MODERATOR, Push2Heat, RE-WITCH, SEEDS, SENERGY NETS, SPIRIT, SUSHEAT, THERMINATOR and THUNDER. Together, these initiatives cover a broad spectrum of solutions from high-temperature heat pumps and smart heat recovery to thermal networks, geothermal and seasonal storage, and advanced control systems for industrial and building applications.
Several projects in the cluster share a particularly close focus with SteamDry on industrial process heating and waste heat valorisation, including SUSHEAT, SPIRIT, Push2Heat, EXQUISHEAT, EEETHOS, HEATWISE and RE-WITCH. These projects address complementary parts of the value chain—such as high-temperature heat pumps for industry, electrified process heating, smart heat recovery and integration of waste heat into industrial systems—creating strong synergies with SteamDry’s work on energy-efficient industrial drying.
Within the 2COOL2WASTE cluster, the 15 projects work together on renewable heating and cooling, industrial waste heat recovery and advanced thermal energy management. By joining this initiative, the SteamDry project contributes expertise in high-efficiency industrial drying and benefits from knowledge exchange, joint events and cross-project collaboration on real-world decarbonisation solutions.
Participation in 2COOL2WASTE reinforces the alignment of SteamDry with key EU policy objectives, including the 2030 Climate Target Plan, the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, Processes4Planet and REPowerEU. Through the cluster, the project helps demonstrate practical pathways to reduce industrial energy demand, increase the reuse of waste heat and support a more sustainable and competitive European process industry.
Further activities within the 2COOL2WASTE community will feature SteamDry in joint communication actions, thematic webinars and dissemination materials that highlight progress and lessons learned from the project and its sister initiatives.