Retainergy – Catching Energy in Process
Plate I · The process

Catching energy that is lost in process. Delhi pilot.

Hospitals in India generate toxic medical waste that must be incinerated. Retainergy is designed to capture the waste heat from that process and turn it into steam and cooling – with power generation being explored – starting with a pilot at Biotic's facility in Delhi.

Explore the solutionDiscuss a partnership
CURRENT PROCESSNEW ADDITIONAL PROCESSLoadingmedical wasteIncineration2 lines · 35 t/dayExhaust600 °Ctoday: cooledand releasedHeatexchangerSteamgeneratorAbsorptionchillerSTEAMsterilisationCOOLINGplant & neighboursPOWERbeing explored
Waste heat, 600 °CRecovery routeUnder studyBiotic · Delhi
600 °CExhaust temperature from the incineration process
35 tMedical waste per day, two incineration lines in Delhi
250Estimated potential market for similar units in India alone
2024Pilot initiated in May, funded by India and Sweden
AI-generated concept illustration: blue heat-recovery equipment installed beside an existing incineration line
AI concept illustration · not installedFig. 1 · The proposed arrangementHeat exchanger, steam generator and absorption chiller beside an existing incineration line.
Plate II · Three useful outputs

One waste stream, steam and cooling.

Today the heat is only partly recovered as steam. The rest is cooled by a gas-fired unit and released into the air, adding to Delhi's urban heat island. Retainergy aims to put it to work instead – with power as a third output being explored.

AI-generated illustration of a plate heat exchanger, a steam generator and an absorption chiller
AI illustration · equipment types, models still to be selected
Heat exchangerSteam generatorAbsorption chiller
01

Steam for sterilisation

Recovered heat generates the steam the facility already needs for sterilising medical waste.

Pilot scope
02

Cooling

Absorption chillers turn heat into cooling for the plant and adjacent buildings – a starting point for industrial symbiosis.

Pilot scope
03

Power

Electricity from the same heat could create a new revenue stream for operators of incineration facilities.

Being explored
Plate III · The Delhi pilot

A testbed in a plant that runs every day.

The solution will be designed and tested at Biotic Waste Ltd's incineration facility in Delhi. If it meets the technical, regulatory and commercial requirements, it will be rolled out across India and, later, in neighbouring countries.

Incineration hall at the Biotic facility in Delhi
Biotic incineration facility, Delhi · project photograph
Timeline
  • MAY 2024Pilot project initiated
  • NOWTestbed design and market research in the Indian medical waste sector
  • NEXTInstallation and testing at the Delhi facility
  • LATERRoll-out in India, other industries and neighbouring markets
Read the background
Plate IV · Core partners

An Indian–Swedish collaboration.

The partners combine hands-on operation of medical waste incineration with capacity building, engineering networks and environmental research.

Biotic Waste Ltd

Host facility · India

Leading operator in bio-medical waste management, serving 11 000+ healthcare facilities from five plants.

Heatnet Global

Project lead · Sweden

International capacity building for decarbonising heating and cooling, with a network of engineering partners.

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute

Research · Sweden & India

Independent research institute with a large team in Mumbai working on water, infrastructure and waste.

Partners & team
Plate V · Join the initiative

Help build the next installations.

We welcome industry partners at an early stage, to make heat recovery from incineration affordable, standardised and easy to retrofit.

Technology suppliers
Engineering services
Investors
Public institutions
Universities & colleges
Research institutes

Peter Anderberg, Overall Project Leader · Heatnet Global

Contact the project