IEA-IETS Task 19: Electrification of Industry

Electrification of industry should be understood as any change in industrial processes and the upstream energy supply chain that results from the switch to renewable electricity as the primary energy source for the energy used in industrial processes. The electrification of industrial processes, when supplied with electricity from renewable sources, makes a significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. It holds a special position due to the extensive usability of the energy source (including in the indirect form of electrolysis hydrogen) and the previous focus of the energy transition on electricity-based technologies.

Electrification can take place in different forms. The focus of the task is on the process heat. Here, direct electrification means the provision of heat, usually at temperature levels above those that are currently supplied by heat pumps or will be supplied in the future. Reference is also made to alternative mechanical processes, e.g. using membranes instead of thermal ones. Electrically operated heat pumps are another aspect of electrification, as their use ensures high efficiency and residual or excess heat can be used. Furthermore, electrification can occur indirectly, via electrolysis hydrogen or electrolysis hydrogen derivatives such as substitute natural gas. In general, Power-to-X was recognized as an issue, including in the chemical industry, but CCUS was excluded at the level of the international task in order not to expand the scope too far; however, CCUS is included in the national work. The final aspect is the system-related consideration of electrification, i.e. above all its impact on the energy and especially electricity system including generation, networks, demand response and storage.

The international task structure changed several times during the course of participation and the Austrian task participation contributed effectively to its content development. The task has now successfully completed two subtasks (subtask 1 "Mapping of activities", completed in 2020, and subtask 2 "Enabling a shared view on system aspects of industrial electrification", content completed in early 2023 and finally released at the ExCo meeting in November 2023. This second subtask covered the following content activities:

• Enabling a common view of the current status of industrial electrification, as well as
• Enabling a common view of current insights and knowledge gaps on system impacts, including infrastructure and sector coupling.
• In addition, activities were carried out to network with other IETS tasks and IEA TCPs, as well as steps to continue the Task 19 work.

The entire technical potential of renewable energy sources in Austria is not sufficient to cover the current domestic primary energy consumption of all sectors. For this reason, on the one hand, all technical potential should be expanded and, at the same time, primary energy efficiency must be significantly increased. Otherwise, renewable energy imports (e.g. electricity or hydrogen) will be necessary, which is to be expected. The spatial analysis has shown that the renewable potential is relatively evenly distributed in Austria. In contrast, primary energy consumption is particularly concentrated in industrial and urban regions. The temporal analysis of the renewable potential and the current electrical load shows that the seasonal (summer - winter) and daily balance (day - night) will be particularly relevant in the future. The future infrastructure must compensate for both these temporal and regional differences. In the future, demand response can relieve the burden on the superior energy infrastructure with this balancing. Achieving large-scale electrified production requires oversizing and storage (or intermediate product storage) considerations. Industry restructuring, including moving to batch processes or maintaining continuous processes with buffer capacity, is possible. The frequency depends on the regional context and resource availability.

At the international level, the aim is to continue IETS Task 19 in a new Subtask 3. The focus should be narrowed in order to carry out more clearly defined joint work. The final report of the international task proposes the activities "Mapping of Industrial Electrification Developments", "Deep dive on electrified industrial processes", and "The role of industrial electrification in industrial decarbonization".

• Energieinstitut an der JKU Linz (Projektleitung)
  Simon Moser
• AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
  Gerwin Drexler-Schmid
• MU Leoben - Lehrstuhl für Energieverbundtechnik
  Thomas Kienberger
• AEE INTEC
  Wolfgang Gruber-Glatzl

Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, USA

Energieinstitut an der JKU Linz (Projektleitung)
Simon Moser
Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040 Linz
E-Mail: moser@energieinstitut-linz.at

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
Gerwin Drexler-Schmid
E-Mail: gerwin.drexler-schmid@ait.ac.at

MU Leoben - Lehrstuhl für Energieverbundtechnik
Thomas Kienberger
E-Mail: thomas.kienberger@uni-leoben.ac.at

AEE INTEC
Wolfgang Gruber-Glatzl
E-Mail: w.gruber-glatzl@aee.at