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Sustainable installation of district energy

THE NEW WAY of Welding
District Heating Pipes

Until today, welding of steel pipes has been a time consuming job.
Snapweld’ing is the new way of welding district heating pipes.

A NOVEL APPROACH to Joining
Pipes for District Heating.

Until now, the process of welding steel pipes has been quite time-consuming.
Snapwelding introduces a modern method for welding district heating pipes.

Welding pipes in a few minutes

Our patented Snapweld’ing is as easy as it can be
This video explains Snapweld’ing in 90 seconds

From 20 to 2500 degrees in 10 seconds

Snapweld’ing reduces costs and time schedule

Snapweld’ing is fast and easy. The time spent per joint is heavily reduced, saving direct work costs and machine costs for the supporting vehicles and machinery. No need for gas or electricity implies further cost reductions.

Less time per joint reduces the total project period, causing shorter blockage of streets, neighborhoods etc. These indirect cost savings are quite considerable.

Snapweld’ing is no hard work

Traditional welding is physically very hard work as the welder lies on the ground several hours per day, constantly moving their hands intensively to create the weld. Psychologically it is also straining due to the monotony of the work.

Consequently, it gets more and more challenging to find qualified welders. Snapweld’ing on the other hand is no hard work and requires just a short training session.

Snapweld’ing advantages

The obvious advantage is the saved time per joint, which in addition to reduced labor and machine costs also reduce the time of the whole operational process, i.e. the blocking of streets.

Traditional welding is physically very hard work as the welder lies on the ground several hours per day, constantly moving their hands intensively to create the weld. Psychologically is also straining due to the monotony of the work. Consequently it gets more and more challenging to find qualified workers.

Trippel layer, reinforced weld

Traditional performed welds have been a key source to piping failures like cracking.
The quality of the traditional weld is highly dependent on the qualification of each welder.
Snapweld’ing isn’t, because it can hardly be performed in a wrong way.
Snapweld’ing creates a tripple layer reinforced weld.

Thermite; power-powder

Thermite is a mix of iron oxide (Fe2O3 ) and alumium powder (Al). Igniting this mix, starts an extreme chemical reaction, reaching 2500 degrees in seconds. The aluminium connects to the oxygen in the iron oxide, creating iron and aluminium oxide:

Fe2O3 + 2 Al → 2 Fe + Al2O3

* (By adding carbon to the process we get a carbon steel weld.)

Our Products

Snapwelder supplies complete welding sets in various sizes.
Each set contains the mould, the nipple, and the thermite powder mix.

  • Snap 100

    • For DN 100 pipes
    • 114 mm outer diameter
    • 98 mm inner diameter

  • Snap 125

    • For DN 125 pipes
    • 141 mm outer diameter
    • 132 mm inner diameter

  • Snap 150

    • For DN 150 pipes
    • 168 mm outer diameter
    • 159 mm inner diameter

  • Snap 200

    • For DN 200 pipes
    • 219 mm outer diameter
    • 208 mm inner diameter

  • Snap 250

    • For DN 250 pipes
    • 273 mm outer diameter
    • 261 mm inner diameter

  • Snap 300

    • For DN 300 pipes
    • 324 mm outer diameter
    • 312 mm inner diameter

District heating is the future

According to The Heat Roadmap Europe (which is funded by the EU’s research and innovation program), EU has a potential of reaching an overall district heating-share of 50% of the total energy used for space heating and cooling by 2050.

This is 4 times higher than today’s 12-13%. To reach this 50%-potential, an extreme construction of piping networks and heat sources is required. Consequently, development of district heating is very high on the agenda in most EU-countries.

4th generation district heating

4th generation district heating is a smart flexible heating system that combines several renewable heating sources in a smart-grid. Heating pumps, access heat, thermal heat, biomass, solar and wind are common sources of renewable energy used for district heating.

By using a smart-grid, the temperature in the grid can be lower than in previous 3rd generation networks.

The most populated countries
will lead the way

Population, access to renewable energy sources and governmental focus are the three key drivers of district heating development.

Not surprisingly, the largest and most industrialized countries in Europe have the highest expected growth in district heating towards 2050.

These numbers are estimates done by Heat Roadmap Europe, funded by the EU.

Steel pipes vs. polymer pipes

Polymer pipes in district heating has become very popular for the smaller sized piping (up to 100 mm carrier pipe diameter). Typically, from the street and into buildings.

Delivery on rolls, quick installation and low weight are KPI’s for polymer piping.

But the polymer’s limitations in temperature, pressure and lifespan makes steel piping the preferred material for network piping (in most situations).

About Snapwelder

Snapwelder was founded in Bergen, Norway in 2016, with a vision to adapt thermite welding to steel pipes. After achieving patent protection in 2019, Snapwelder started focusing on district heating steel pipes, as district heating is a key pillar for future space heating and cooling.

Snapwelder is currently working on qualification of the technology with DNVGL.

Snapwelder’s head office is still in Bergen, Norway, and sales and marketing in located in the Netherlands.

Title

Contact Snapwelder

Postal address:

Snapwelder AS
Postboks 2427 Solheimsviken
5824 Bergen
Norway

Visiting address:

Minde Allé 48
5068 Bergen
Norway

Email: post@snapwelder.no

Telephone: 0047 92292110

District heating is the future
in dense urban areas

According to The Heat Roadmap Europe (which is funded by the EU’s research and innovation program), EU has the potential of reaching a district heating-share of 50% of the total energy used for space heating and cooling by 2050.

This is 5 times higher than today’s 10%. To reach this 50%-potential, an extreme construction of piping networks and heat sources is required. Consequently, development of district heating is very high on the agenda in most EU-countries.

Space heating and cooling represents the majority of energy consumption when it comes to buildings. It is crucial to switch this consumption to renewable energy – and there are basicly 4 alternatives:

  1. Go all electric, but this would only work if there was enough electricity from renewable sources, and there isn’t. Without local heatpumps, this alternative is also not energy efficient.
  2. Replace existing natural gas heating with hydrogen boilers. This is expensive and there will not be enough hydrogen to heat buildings, in addition to the important decarbonizing of the heavy transport section.
  3. Local solutions for each building, like solar panels and heat pumps. This will be a solution in less densely populated areas, where district heating is to expensive to develope. But in dense areas, this it is not feasible (lack of space, lack of financing and lack of individual drive to get it done) and in general it is not efficient to install ten-thousands, or millions, of small «power-plants» in one city).
  4. Build district heating network in densely populated areas.
    This is by EU considered the most efficient way of supplying energy to space-heating and cooling. District heating requires no extra space in the buildings and the investments are relatively small in each building. All maintanance is centralized in a flexible system where several energy sources can be combined.

In short, district heating will dominate in dense areas and local soloutions as heat pumps and solar panels will dominate in less populated areas.

4th generation district heating

The 1st generation district heating (DH) was established in the 1880s in the US and consisted of coal-heatet steam. In the following 100 years, the 2nd and 3rd generation of DH was developed. The latter one took also renewable energy sources and insulated piping into use.

Today, the 4th generation is dominating in new networks, with high focus on renewable energy sources, lower water temperature and flexibilty to combine several energy sources. By lowering the temperature to below 70 degrees, more energy sources are available and heatloss is reduced.

4th generation DH systems are expected to provide flexibility for balancing wind and solar power generation. This is for example achieved by using heat pumps to integrate surplus electric power as heat when there is much wind energy. Or electricity from biomass plants is provided when back-up power is needed. Therefore, large scale heat pumps are regarded as a key technology for smart energy systems with high shares of renewable energy.

5th generation DH

The 5th generation DH and cooling network (5GDHC), also called cold district heating, distributes heat at a near ambient ground temperature. This minimizes heat losses to the ground and reduces the need for extensive insulation. Each building connected to the network uses a heat pump in its own plant room to extract heat from the ambient circuit when it needs heat, whereas it uses the same heat pump in reverse for rejecting heat when it needs cooling.

This generation is mostly fitted for complete new-built areas, as it requires a new central heating installation in each building. The downside with such a solution is the decentralized heat pump distribution, leaving high numbers of heat pumps in private hands with a need for service and maintenance, and vulnerable for defects.

The most populated contries will lead the way

Population, access to renewable energy sources and governmental focus are the three key drivers of district heating (DH) development. Not surprisingly, the largest and most industrialized countries in Europe have the highest expected growth in DH, towards 2050.

Italy, Spain, Germany, UK, and France are, based on population, the largest countries in Europe. In addition, they are highly industrialized and have a high governmental focus on DH. These listed five counties will lead the way in Europe when it comes to developing 4th and 5th generation DH networks.

In the diagram, Italy has the highest expected development of new DH networks. This is due to very high availability of renewable energy sources nearby urban areas, i.e., lots of excess heat from industry in short distance from densely populated areas. France, on the other hand, has less renewable energy and less governmental focus than Italy, and consequently scores lower in the diagram.

These estimates are done by Heat Roadmap Europe, funded by the EU.

Steel pipes vs polymer pipes

Polymer pipes in district heating (DH) have become very popular in the smaller sizes (up to 100 mm carrier pipe diameter). This is typically piping installed from the streets into buildings.

Polymer piping is a common term for plastic polymers as i.e., Cross-linked Polyethylene (PE-X), Polybutylene (PB), Polypropylene (PP), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), etc. For DH networks, PE–X and PB are the most commonly used polymer pipes.

Supply on rolls, faster installation and low weight favors polymer piping. However, polymer has limitations related to temperature, pressure, and lifespan.

Steel piping is the preferred material for network piping, at least in 3rd and 4th generation DH networks. In 5th generation DH networks, also called cold district heating, the temperature is very low (5-20 degrees) and for these temperatures polymer piping can be preferable.

Longer installation time has been one of the main disadvantages for steel piping, as it takes hours to perform each weld on the joints of the steel pipes. Snapwelder is now taking big steps in reducing the installation time for steel piping, making it significantly more competitive towards polymer piping. Quicker, easier and at a lower cost.

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