ECCO is an independent, science-based nonprofit think tank framed in a network of like-minded international entities that share a desire to develop solutions to climate change based on sound science.
Funded by philanthropic entities or public resources, the community ECCO recently drafted and published “Industry and Electrification – Strategic Opportunities for the National Energy and Climate Plan.” The reference is to the so-called the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan, NIPEC.
The study started from the analysis of the trend of gas consumption by companies and their collapse in 2022 after the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The driver of electrification
“No organic efficiency strategies and adequate targeted plans have been put in place to encourage a shift to electricity in heat generation, resulting in a further reduction in gas consumption. Except for spot measures, electrification does not seem to be considered a driver for decreasing fossil fuel utilization. We have estimated that by electrifying 50 percent of the processes alone that need temperatures below 150 degrees we would be able to determine the reduction of about eight million tons of carbon dioxide,” explained Chiara Di Mambro, ECCO Head of Decarbonization Policies.
“The issue is closely related to the type and nature of the materials to be processed and transformed, but the ongoing research is the first step toward a decarbonization program to 2030. Such an Industry Plan needs to be articulated in stages and acquire an increasing degree of complexity and ambition. We hypothesize a phased pathway that starts from already feasible solutions and moves up toward more challenging ones.”
Di Mambro speaks of a perspective based on the idea of “scalability” and harmonization of tariffs. “The ratio per unit of energy consumed when comparing gas and electricity prices must be predictable from the beginning. Today, for the same consumption, the electricity tariff is burdened with much higher charges than the gas tariff, so the energy savings achieved through electrification are paradoxically cancelled out due to the tariff regime.” The spread of renewables is increasing, but there are often connection problems that can be solved by involving distribution networks and utilities and properly training installers and users
The emissions scenario
ECCO developed an emissions scenario with a 2030 horizon starting with data from 2021, when the industry released 86 million tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2eq), including 54 from energy source consumption and 32 from production processes. Among various emission reduction strategies, the proposed scenario includes the electrification of medium- and low-temperature heat, net of the share of fuels used to produce electricity with CHP plants and the associated losses. It is expected that 50 percent of the low-temperature heat demand of 3.5 Mtoe can be electrified with appropriate support policies and removal of barriers such as tariffs.
The spread of renewables for electricity generation also enables the gradual decarbonization of the industrial sector. A company using a 30 MW gas boiler to generate the heat needed during the production process creates the emission of about 40,000 tons of CO2 per year. Switching to the installation of one or more industrial electric heat pumps with a COP of 3 would result in 16,000 tons of CO2 indirect emissions alone, considering the current domestic electricity generation mix (261 kilograms of CO2 per megawatt-hour).
(by Roberto Carminati)
