Markham District Energy (MDE), Canada’s fastest-growing district energy utility, selected Copeland, a global leader in sustainable climate solutions, to provide its Vilter VQ95 single-screw ammonia industrial heat pumps to power the world’s largest wastewater energy transfer (WET) facility at its Low Carbon Energy Centre in downtown Markham, Ontario.
Copeland and MDE are driving the energy transition through an innovative system design that utilizes Copeland’s Vilter industrial heat pumps. MDE’s WET facility extracts and converts energy from wastewater for sustainable heating and cooling, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
The landmark project, which is expected to reduce carbon emissions from the production of thermal energy by more than 30,000 tonnes per year at the plant’s full capacity — equivalent to taking ~7,000 cars off the road — underscores MDE’s commitment to sustainable energy solutions and highlights Copeland’s leadership in advanced heat pump technology.
“This initiative is set to revolutionize the use of wastewater as a renewable energy source,” stated Ryan Garrah, vice president of Canada for Copeland. “Markham District Energy’s selection of our heat pumps demonstrates their trust in our differentiated technology to deliver efficient and reliable energy transfer from wastewater sources.”
The MDE WET facility differs from standard applications because it uses sewage wastewater as the primary heat source, which is typically an untapped energy stream. Instead of relying on conventional energy sources, it captures waste heat from sewage, which enters at about 5 C, and efficiently converts it into usable heat at 95 C.
Additionally, the facility’s integration into an 8-foot diameter underground sewage pipeline near the district energy building is unique. It allows for large-scale, sustainable water heating while simultaneously providing cooling capacity, significantly reducing carbon emissions and showcasing innovative energy recovery from waste streams — unlike traditional systems that might draw energy from more conventional sources like ambient air or ground heat.
Copeland’s industrial heat pumps are slated for delivery by mid-summer 2025 and to be fully operational by January 2026.
