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The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and Takeda were presented with the DECA Award Industry 2025 at the Energy Efficiency Congress for the pioneering NEFI project AHEAD (Advanced Heat Pump Demonstrator). The award recognised in particular the technological innovation of the industrial high-temperature heat pump demonstrator, which enables CO₂-free steam generation in pharmaceutical production and thus sets new standards for sustainable industrial processes.
AHEAD – The flagship project for sustainable drug production
In autumn 2025, the innovative AHEAD heat pump system was officially commissioned at Takeda's production site in Vienna. The system operates with 100% natural refrigerants, supplies steam at 11 bar and 184°C, and makes highly efficient use of the seasonally available waste heat from existing refrigeration systems, enabling it to provide CO₂-free steam for seven months of the year. The potential savings amount to up to 1,600 tonnes of CO₂ per year – around 80% of the previous emissions at the Vienna site at Lange Allee 24.
The research project was launched in 2022 by Takeda in collaboration with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and SPH Sustainable Process Heat GmbH and is funded by the Climate and Energy Fund as part of the "NEFI – New Energy for Industry" research initiative, which is financed by the Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure.
"We are delighted to receive the DECA Award Industry 2025. It confirms our ambition to set a new standard for environmentally friendly and efficient pharmaceutical production with AHEAD. CO₂-free steam generation is a key milestone on our path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in our own operations by 2035," said Maria Löflund, Head of Takeda's Vienna production site.
"The DECA Award Industry 2025 highlights the central role of AHEAD as a technological innovation driver for a sustainable, energy- and resource-efficient industry. With the implementation of a steam-generating high-temperature heat pump based on natural refrigerants, we are setting a groundbreaking milestone in industrial process heat. The award shows how important close cooperation between industry and research is for future-oriented and robust production processes," says Andreas Kugi, Scientific Director of AIT.
AIT developed optimised design for the AHEAD system
In the summer of 2025 – around three years after the project started – the high-temperature heat pump was successfully transferred to trial operation. Based on process data from Takeda and the component's characteristics ( ), AIT developed the design for the AHEAD system in order to provide steam as efficiently as possible with low investment and operating costs. Since commissioning, the AIT team has been monitoring the plant as part of a comprehensive scientific monitoring programme to evaluate its performance and analyse the technology's potential for further industrial applications and locations. In addition, AIT is developing a detailed system model for an optimised operating strategy that will enable particularly efficient and reliable use of the AHEAD system. To determine the decarbonisation potential, a novel approach was developed that combines process requirements and expected process changes, learning curves for high-temperature heat pumps based on the experience gained during demonstration operation and possible optimisations, as well as statistical data. More information about the project https://www.nefi.at/de/projekt/ahead
DECA – Energy Efficiency and Contracting Service Provider Austria
DECA is an independent, non-profit association that has been acting as a mouthpiece and platform for energy efficiency and energy service providers in Austria since 2013. DECA's goal is to strengthen the market for high-quality energy efficiency services (EEDL) and to promote the implementation of efficient, sustainable energy, heating and cooling supply using contracting models. Outstanding energy efficiency projects will be honoured at DECA's 6th Austrian Energy Efficiency Congress.