FAQ
Find answers to common questions about Skyven and its Arcturus industrial heat pump, from determining project fit to getting started.
About Skyven
Skyven helps manufacturers lower the cost of industrial steam with Arcturus, our line of industrial high-temperature heat pumps. Each Arcturus system is configured around a facility’s heat sources and steam requirements to optimize performance for a given site.
Customers can deploy Arcturus through Energy-as-a-Service, with Skyven financing and operating the project, or through a traditional capital purchase.
Skyven does not manufacture compressors. We design, integrate, and deploy high temperature heat pumps.
The compressor train is the heart of the heat pump, but the heat pump is more than the compressor. We have the compressors in our heat pump design custom made to our specifications by highly reputable, experienced compressor vendors. We utilize a multi source supply chain, and the compressor vendors we work with have been rigorously qualified by us.
Skyven has delivered six full-scope industrial heat projects for California Dairies, Inc., the largest dairy processor in California. To deliver these projects, Skyven secured project financing, managed complex engineering and integration with live manufacturing facilities, and delivered the projects under long-term Energy-as-a-Service agreements. Project operations are ongoing today.
Skyven develops projects across North America, Europe, and Asia, with active project development internationally. To support project delivery, Skyven works with a pre-qualified network of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partners spanning more than 35 countries.
Explore our glossary for explainers on COP, energy reliability, industrial heat recovery, and industrial steam systems.
Arcturus Steam-Generating Heat Pump
Arcturus is Skyven’s line of industrial steam-generating heat pumps. It recovers waste heat from sources such as humid exhaust and cooling water and upgrades it into boiler-quality steam at temperatures up to 215°C (420°F) and pressures up to 20.7 barg (300 psig).
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. Arcturus operates at coefficients of performance (COPs) ranging from approximately 2.0 to more than 8.0, depending primarily on the required temperature lift.
Arcturus’s open-cycle architecture also reduces efficiency losses associated with conventional closed-cycle heat pumps, enabling high COPs across a wide range of temperature lifts and steam conditions. Arcturus uses water as both its refrigerant and its working fluid.
Skyven’s Arcturus line of industrial heat pumps is designed for energy-intensive manufacturing facilities with substantial process steam demand and a consistent source of recoverable waste heat. Typical applications include, but are not limited to, food and beverage, pulp and paper, ethanol and biofuels, chemicals, textiles, and metals processing. Explore Arcturus projects across industries.
Skyven Arcturus can recover waste heat from exhaust streams and process fluids already present at an industrial facility. Common sources include exhaust from dryers, fryers, ovens, and other thermal processes; paper-machine exhaust; vapor condensed from evaporators, condensers, separation columns, and crystallizers; combustion exhaust from furnaces, process heaters, thermal oxidizers, and ovens; heat rejected by refrigeration systems and process chillers; and cooling water or liquid-cooling loops from data centers.
The strongest Arcturus opportunities are facilities with significant, consistent steam demand, a suitable source of recoverable waste heat, and steam requirements within Arcturus’s operating range. Skyven’s Galileo assessment evaluates site-specific heat sources, steam conditions, system performance, and project economicsto provide a rapid, preliminary view of the potential Arcturus system at your facility.
Skyven operates a megawatt-scale Arcturus system at its Dallas, Texas, facility, where customers can see the industrial high-temperature heat pump producing boiler-quality steam under real-world operating conditions.
The Arcturus high-temperature heat pump reduces industrial steam costs through high efficiency and flexible operation. Its high COP allows it to produce boiler-quality steam using substantially less purchased energy than gas boilers or resistance-based electrified alternatives.
Because Arcturus operates in parallel with existing boilers, facilities can shift steam production between electricity and natural gas as energy prices and operating conditions change. This flexibility reduces exposure to price volatility and can also enable participation in demand response programs, creating additional savings or revenue.
Arcturus reduces reliance on fuel-fired boilers by recovering waste heat and upgrading it into steam, cutting on-site fuel combustion from boilers. Lowering combustion-based emissions with Arcturus can also reduce a facility’s exposure under carbon pricing programs such as cap-and-trade and emissions trading systems, where fuel use carries a direct compliance cost.
Arcturus requires a medium voltage electrical connection to supply the drive power for its compressors. The size of the connection is dependent on the system specifics, typically in the 1-20 MW range. Because Arcturus achieves a high COP, it uses 50–65% less electricity than an electric boiler producing the same steam output, which significantly reduces the required connection size.
Skyven evaluates available grid capacity and connection options during project development. For sites where grid capacity is constrained, Skyven can evaluate flexible or non-firm connection agreements, which allow connection under an interruptible supply arrangement. Arcturus is well-suited for interruptible loads because it operates in parallel with existing boilers and can accept curtailment without affecting production.
Skyven can also support utility coordination and electrical interconnection as part of the project scope.
Arcturus generates boiler-quality steam at much higher efficiencies than traditional fossil fuel-fired boilers, providing a cost advantage over legacy steam generation systems. A brand new, state-of-the-art natural gas (steam) boiler has a typical efficiency of 85%, corresponding to a coefficient of performance (COP) of 0.85 – many times lower than Arcturus’s COP, which is site-optimized.
This means that natural gas boilers require several times more energy in the form of natural gas than Arcturus requires in the form of electricity to produce steam, leading to the cost advantage. Note that low electricity costs and high natural gas prices, as well as fuel-switching between Arcturus and existing systems, increases this advantage.
Arcturus delivers the flexibility of electrified steam at substantially higher efficiency than electric boilers and resistive-heating TES systems, reducing electricity use by 50% or more for the same steam output. While grid-interactive electric boilers can reduce costs by operating during periods of very low electricity prices, their near-1.0 COP limits the number of hours when they can compete economically with conventional steam generation. Arcturus’s higher efficiency expands that operating window while retaining flexibility to turn off and revert to gas boilers for steam generation during high-price periods.
Thermal energy storage can shift electricity consumption to lower-cost hours, but it does not substantially reduce the energy required to generate steam and may require significant charging capacity.
Project Development, Deployment, and Operations
Customers can deploy Arcturus through either Energy-as-a-Service or a traditional capital purchase.
- Under Energy-as-a-Service, Skyven finances, owns, operates, and maintains the system. The customer pays for the steam Arcturus delivers at an agreed rate, allowing the project to generate operating savings without upfront capital investment.
- Under the CapEx model, the customer purchases the system directly and owns the asset. Skyven can provide installation, operations, and maintenance support if desired.
The first step is a site assessment using Galileo, Skyven’s thermodynamic modeling tool. With approximately one hour of input from your team, Skyven evaluates your steam demand, available heat sources, utility conditions, and energy costs.
The assessment provides a site-specific view of potential Arcturus capacity, expected COP, steam cost savings, emissions reductions, and overall project fit. From there, facilities with a strong opportunity can move into the FEL and project development phases of our process.
The cost depends on the deployment model and the requirements of your facility. Under Energy-as-a-Service, Skyven finances, installs, owns, and maintains the Arcturus system, allowing the customer to deploy it with zero capital investment.
For CapEx deployments, project cost varies based on a number of factors, including system capacity, temperature lift, steam conditions, available waste heat, and site integration requirements. Skyven issues site-specific performance, cost, and savings estimates during FEL-1.
Many facilities are eligible for state, federal, or regional incentives for Arcturus projects. Skyven has secured more than $160 million in grants and incentives to date and will help identify and apply for relevant programs.
Timelines vary by project, but customers can generally expect the project to require 24 months from initial Galileo assessment to Arcturus commissioning. Learn more about Skyven’s project development process.
Arcturus installs in parallel with your existing steam system rather than replacing it, allowing your boilers to remain available for backup, peak demand, and operational flexibility. Installation and commissioning are planned to minimize disruption to production, and any required steam system tie-ins are coordinated around the facility’s operating schedule.
Arcturus is designed to integrate with existing plant operations while minimizing impact to production. It is deployed in parallel with the facility’s existing steam system, preserving existing boiler capacity for backup and redundancy. Most installation can occur while the facility remains in operation, with final steam, heat-source, and utility tie-ins coordinated around planned outages where required. Arcturus is also fully bypassable, so the existing boilers can continue supplying steam whenever the system is offline for planned or unplanned maintenance.
Arcturus operates in parallel with your existing boilers, so they remain available to maintain steam production during planned maintenance or an unplanned outage. Maintenance responsibility depends on the deployment model. Under Energy-as-a-Service, Skyven monitors, maintains, and repairs the system for the life of the contract. Under a CapEx purchase, the customer can manage maintenance directly or contract with Skyven for ongoing service and support. Remote monitoring provides visibility into system performance and helps identify issues early.
Let’s Start the Conversation
Let’s Start the Conversation
Share a few details about your facility, and we’ll be in touch regarding next steps for an Arcturus project at your site.
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