As a leading supplier of central heating and engine-cooling systems for the marine industry, Ulmatec Pyro has equipped more than 20,000 vessels globally with its eco-friendly, innovative and sustainable systems. Since 1951, the company has combined its extensive experience and skills with attentive customer relations, resulting in vigorous growth and development.

The Waste Energy Recovery System repurposes waste by-products like heat into useful energy sources

From its base on the coast of western Norway, Ulmatec Pyro develops innovative, environmentally friendly systems that ensure sustainable operations. All ships require heat energy for various functions on board. Working closely with its customers and to ensure vessels remain as energy-efficient as possible, Ulmatec Pyro tailors its flexible systems to each individual project.

The only way to cater for today’s increased focus on low-emission and zeroemission vessels is to include a hot water central heating system – the easiest way to improve a vessel’s energy efficiency.

Ulmatec Pyro’s 70 years of experience has taken the Waste Energy Recovery System (WERS) to a higher level. Where many companies focus on how much energy can be recovered, Ulmatec Pyro focuses on how it can be used, and how an optimal distribution of the recovered energy can be ensured. The more on-board consumers that can be added, the more energy-efficient a vessel can be. This can be achieved by using the heat for other heat consumers on board. For vessels operating in warm climates, recovered heat can be used to produce electrical power or for cooling accommodation through an adsorption cooler. These technologies have entered the market a lot more recently, and their efficiency is increasing.

Benefits over other systems

Ulmatec Pyro’s system helps use as much surplus engine heat as possible by extracting it from the exhaust and cooling water, then heating the water in the central heating system. This method combines the engine’s surplus energy into a seamless system with heat from the exhaust gas economiser and the HT-cooling water. Optimally, the fuel-fired heater only functions as a backup or for topping up, and will very rarely be in operation. This offers potentially huge savings in fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Ulmatec Pyro’s system extracts heat and balances energy between various consumers, such as the HVAC system, bathroom heating, cabins and living rooms, producing hot potable water, tank heating, preheating RO and heating water for the fresh water generator and for the pool.

Surplus energy can also be stored in thermos tanks, which can be used as energy sources for heating a ship when it is docked or operating in battery mode. Or, in an adsorption cooler to generate cooling. Moreover, if the ship is operating in colder climes, the surplus energy can be used for anti-icing on decks, railings, stairs and more.

All these functions would otherwise require additional fuel, burned in an engine, with associated carbon emissions. In addition, Ulmatec Pyro’s system is intelligent and regulates itself automatically, even if a vessel moves between temperature zones, such as the Arctic or the tropics.

With increased focus on the environment and sustainability, most suppliers use new technology designed to increase a vessel’s energy efficiency. Common to the functioning of many of these solutions is that they require heat energy from a heat-recovery system. This explains the importance of a good, future-oriented heatrecovery system. Ulmatec Pyro ensures that customers have a flexible system that can be linked to the newest technology on the market, while also being ready for any future innovations.

This hot water system maximises energy efficiency. The company’s Waste Energy Management System (WEMS) is also suitable for hybrid vessels as it allows batteries to be used for propulsion, lighting and navigation rather than energy being wasted on the heating and cooling systems.

Since 2011, Ulmatec Pyro’s WEMS has resulted in a significant difference in the market for offshore ships, rigs, fishing vessels, ice-breakers, research vessels, ferries and cruise ships. The cruise industry is particularly focused on achieving extreme energy efficiency in response to strict demands for cleaner air, to preserve the world’s oceans and coastlines. Ulmatec Pyro’s future-oriented and sustainable systems maximise the utilisation of surplus energy, which helps to significantly reduce emissions.

Ulmatec Pyro’s WEMS is also ready to carry out remote service and diagnostics, thus optimising the operating profile of the vessel and allowing service support wherever the ship is located, without the need for service engineers to be on board.