Decarbonizing energy-intensive industries: Empirical insights into the aspirations for electrification and flexibilization of industrial processes

The electrification of industrial processes is essential for achieving climate neutrality in the energy-intensive industry. However, various challenges impede the widespread electrification of industrial processes. Furthermore, literature emphasizes the significance of flexibility of electricity purchases and production processes in terms of temporal shifts. Flexibility provision can enhance the utilization of clean electricity, reduce energy costs, and contribute to grid stability by reducing peak demand. However, it is currently unclear to what extent energy-intensive companies adopt electrification strategies and pursue load-shifting measures, and this is likely to vary across industrial sectors. We present findings from interviews that were conducted in 2023 and an online survey among energy-intensive companies in February 2024 that sought to explore the potential and barriers of the electrification and flexibility of industrial processes from companies’ perspectives. The challenges identified are clustered into different levels (macro, meso, micro) and categories (technological, financial, regulatory/political, organizational, social). Major constraints for electrification include, among others, high investment costs and long payback periods for process technologies, technological complexity and immaturity, a lack of stable policy frameworks, and transitional barriers related to operational procedures. Specific attention will be drawn to the general notions and named potential regarding flexibility provision, and further, the stated strategies regarding flexibility in energy source utilization. Challenges include the technical feasibility of flexibility measures, production-related factors and organizational factors such as personnel planning. In addition, we found that many companies already have climate neutrality strategies in place that often comprise scope 1-3 emissions. Target years for climate neutrality vary. The most frequently mentioned methods for decarbonizing the company were energy-efficiency measures, the purchase of green electricity from the grid, waste heat utilization, but also the electrification of industrial processes. Biomass-based energy sources and, prospectively, the use of hydrogen were also considered as relevant decarbonization methods by 25% of our respondents. However, only few companies agreed that the flexibilization of industrial processes will be a relevant topic in the future. This is in contrast to the majority of companies that emphasized the goal of direct electrification measures. Overall, the study’s strength lies in its allowance for a comparison of model assumptions and scenario outcomes with empirical data. The resulting implications for decarbonization scenarios and pathways will be discussed.