Skyven Arcturus Steam-Generating Heat Pump

Skyven Technologies is a US industrial steam company headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas, with offices in Fresno, Nijmegen and Antwerp. It was founded in 2013 around a solar thermal collector for industrial heat and now focuses on lowering the cost of process steam for manufacturers.

Arcturus recovers low-temperature heat from humid exhaust or process cooling, transfers it to a water loop and flashes it under vacuum into low-pressure steam, which a multi-stage centrifugal compressor train raises to the pressure the plant needs. Water is the working fluid. The system delivers steam up to 215 C and 20.7 barg from heat sources as low as 30 C, at capacities of 10 to 100 tonnes of steam per hour. It runs in parallel with existing boilers and switches between electricity and gas as prices change. Each project starts with a Galileo site assessment and can be delivered as Energy-as-a-Service or as a capital purchase.

• Low-grade heat recovery: captures heat from humid exhaust, condensers and process cooling as low as 30 C.
• Water as working fluid: vacuum flashing and direct compression of water with zero GWP.
• High steam conditions: delivers steam up to 215 C and 20.7 barg.
• Large capacity: modular systems from 10 to 100 tonnes of steam per hour.
• Hybrid dispatch: controls shift steam production between electricity and gas with real-time prices.
• Galileo assessment: site study that estimates COP and annual savings before investment.

Paper mills in Vietnam could convert paper machine hood exhaust into drying steam. Food and snack factories could recover heat from oven and fryer exhaust. Ethanol and chemical plants could upgrade dryer exhaust and condenser heat to cut coal or gas boiler use.

Skyven reports a sustained COP of 8.0 at its Texas demonstration centre, against less than 1 for a gas-fired boiler, and states a typical steam cost about 40% lower than fuel-fired boilers. Under the Energy-as-a-Service model the customer pays no upfront capital. Existing boilers stay in place for backup and peak demand, which lowers operational risk.

Manufacturers are under pressure to cut both fuel bills and Scope 1 emissions from steam, and service models that remove upfront capital are speeding adoption of industrial heat pumps. Vietnamese paper, chemical, food and ethanol plants operate large steam systems and vent substantial low-grade heat, a fit for recovery projects financed by third parties.

Skyven was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas, with locations in Fresno, Nijmegen and Antwerp. Investors include Voyager Ventures, Climactic Ventures, VoLo Earth Ventures, Re:Wire Ventures, SWAN Impact Network and Kyotherm. It received 2024 US DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and Climate Finance Innovator awards, and its customers include California Dairies, Inc.