Australia's No. 1
Joint Supplement
Glucosamine
An anti-inflammatory that protects cartilage to maintain joint flexibility
Reduce inflammation and joint pain
Supports bone health
Regulates calcium metabolism to maintain bone health
Producing high temperature hot water for cleaning and space heating
Generate cost effective steam for heat transfer through the tablet mixing and coating process
Process heating systems for gelatine preparation when producing soft-gel capsules
Dehumidification to reduce moisture in manufacturing areas that could otherwise impact medicine quality and efficacy
The key systems using gas are four steam boilers, 12 natural gas desiccant dehumidifiers and two hot water boilers.
What Blackmores is trying to achieve
Removal of one gas hot water boiler from the site
Installation of a low GWP heat pump
Production of hot water at 75˚C
Heating capacity of 700-800 kW
COP of system ~3.1-3.8
This site is for those following Blackmores’ mission to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2030. It contains technical information for businesses also considering their own decarbonisation journey.
Blackmores acknowledges the contribution of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in co-funding our implementation of heat pump technology.
Reaching ambitious Net Zero targets requires big bets on emerging technology
The team at Blackmores passionately advocate for Climate Action. This is motivated by our use of ingredients sourced from nature that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
We partner with suppliers all over the world who share our commitment to sustainable sourcing.
One of the most important ways we can mitigate climate change is by decarbonising our own operations. Blackmores has a manufacturing facility at Braeside in Victoria which is powered by 100% renewable electricity.
But the site also needs gas. Its ability to quickly and cost effectively generate hot water and steam has made natural gas a key fuel in manufacturing, in addition to its availability and relative safety. It also burns cleanly in relation to some fuel sources which supports the longevity of machinery.
Gas consumption at the Blackmores Braeside Manufacturing Facility contributed 99% of the site's Scope 1 & 2 emissions in 2024 so reducing our gas use is our single biggest decarbonisation opportunity.
What do we need instant heat for?
What is a heat pump?
A heat pump is a device that transfers thermal energy between a heat source and heat sink. Your household refrigerator and air conditioner are both examples of heat pumps. They absorb heat from one area and move it to another, e.g. from inside your fridge, to outside your fridge.
The heat pump in this project will use a low global warming refrigerant to absorb waste heat from the site's chillers and transfer it to the site's hot water system. The heat pumps compressor is the heart of the system and will be driven by an electric motor powered by 100% renewable electricity.
Why Hot Water boilers?
Solution
Enhanced Heat Pump Utilisation
Significant Impact on Emissions
Market-Ready Solutions
Better ROI
If we install an industrial heat pump and electrify our hot water boilers, we believe we can eliminate 25% of 'Scope 1 and 2' greenhouse gas emissions from the
Braeside Manufacturing Facility.
Lower Risk Compared to Steam and Dehumidifier Electrification
Installation of a hot water buffer tank (6-10 kL) to manage peak loads
Integration with the chilled water and cooling tower system
Recovery of chiller waste heat using the heat pump
Retention of one gas boiler as redundancy
How a heat pump will help
This project will directly provide significant natural gas savings through the replacement of the hot water boiler. Additionally, by absorbing waste heat from the site's chillers, it will provide water savings due to reduced load on the site's cooling towers. This project is key to helping to site achieve its aspirational target of net zero by 2030.
What are we doing?
The project is broken into four key stages: detailed design, procurement, installation & commissioning, and monitoring & evaluation.
Project Stage
Timeline
Key Activities
Detailed design of mechanical, civil & electrical upgrades required to facilitate the heat pump
Detailed design of the heat pump system
Vendor selection
Equipment procurement
Logistics planning (We are here)
Quality assurance
Delivery and Installation
Testing and Commissioning System Integration systems
Performance Monitoring
Decommissioning
Disposal or Recycling
Data collection and analysis
Reporting
Sharing our progress!
Detailed design
Procurement
Installation
and commissioning
Monitoring and evaluation
2-3 months
3-6 months
3-6 months
12 months
The key challenges
Heat pump integration: The heat pump will be integrated into the site’s existing Heating Hot Water (HHW) loop with a setpoint of 75°C. To achieve an economic Coefficient of Performance (COP), the heat pump must be integrated with a waste heat source, the site’s condenser water loop. Integrating with the existing refrigeration condensate loop poses operational continuity challenges and risks.
Buffer tank installation: The installation of a Heating Hot Water buffer tank presents challenges due to the fully occupied plant room. This will necessitate the moving of equipment, or provision of a complicated civil structure for the buffer tank installation. Additionally, the integration will require hot water piping modifications, including the installation of longer and more complex piping runs to connect the buffer tank to the existing system.
Regulatory compliance: Braeside is required to meet both pharmaceutical and food safety standards as it produces a variety of products. Meeting the stringent pharmaceutical standards (e.g., TGA) for qualification and documentation of all changes, possible modes of failure, and mitigations creates extra costs and necessitates very detailed project management.
Progress so far
The project’s mechanical and electrical assessment is now complete.
The structural assessment found that the plant room has adequate weight-bearing capacity to accommodate the proposed buffer tank, negating the need for an outdoor tank and additional civil structure.
The electrical assessment has identified the required upgrades to enable the installation of the proposed heat pump.
An order has been placed for our heat pump to be delivered and installed in 2026.
The initial layout draft and P&ID was prepared and will enable the Project team to finalise the design.
As the system design evolved through several revisions, the proposed heat pump configuration was updated to include chilled water generation capability.
As an outcome of this, the designer recommended incorporating a chilled water tank to help manage peak loads and protect the compressors from rapid cycling.
This recommendation was based on a review of the site’s chilled water demand profile, which indicated potential benefits in load trimming and system stability.
We are now moving into the installation and commissioning phase of this project, with the heat pump expected to be installed by June 2026.
We will continue to update this website as the project progresses.
If you have any questions, please email sustainability@blackmores.com.au
What we'll be doing next
Acknowledgement
This Project received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of ARENA's National Industrial Transformation Program. Learn more HERE.
Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.