The Technology

How Arcturus Works

Arcturus uses electricity and recovered heat to generate boiler-quality, emissions-free industrial steam. It captures low-temperature heat from onsite sources like humid exhaust and process cooling and transfers that heat to a water loop. The heated water is then flashed under vacuum to produce low-pressure steam, which passes through a multi-stage compressor train that raises it to the temperature and pressure required by steam-consuming processes at the facility.

Arcturus produces temperature lifts from 38°C to 185°C, with corresponding COPs ranging from 8.0 down to 2.0, compared to less than one for a gas-fired boiler. Each Arcturus system is configured around the hottest heat source and lowest steam pressure available at the site, minimizing lift to maximize COP and cost savings.

• Steam Temperature: Up to 215°C / 420°F
• Steam Pressure: Up to 20.7 barg / 300 psig
• System Capacity: 10-100 tons of steam per hour
• Heat Source Temperature: As low as 30°C / 86°F
• Coefficient of Performance (COP): Between 2.0 and 8.0, depending on site conditions
• Refrigerant & Working Fluid: Water (non-toxic, inexpensive, zero GWP)

Best of Both Worlds

High Performance, Standardized Design

Industrial heat pumps have generally forced a choice: high performance or low cost. Achieving high performance typically means one-off custom engineering with high cost, complexity, and long lead times. On the other hand, lower cost typically means sacrificing COP and lift in favor of standardization.

Arcturus provides the best of both worlds. Every system is configured from a library of standardized, modularized subsystems, arranged to maximize COP and lift while keeping costs low.

Built for Flexibility

Redundant, Hybrid Configuration

Arcturus connects in parallel with existing steam generation systems, adding steam capacity without requiring boiler replacement. The result is two independent sources of steam, one electric and one fuel-fired, with the ability to switch between them as energy costs fluctuate throughout the day.

• No Downtime: Redundant, bypassable integration ensures no impact to operations during installation or maintenance.
• Increased Reliability: Supplies baseload steam, while existing boilers remain available for backup and peak demand.
• Fuel Flexibility: Controls monitor electricity and natural gas rates in real time and shift steam generation between the two within minutes as prices change.