CIRCE, a member of the FLEXINDUSTRIES project, has published a comprehensive paper that sheds light on industry decarbonisation strategies for energy intensive industries.
The decarbonisation of energy intensive industries is crucial to supporting the European Union’s ambitious goals of reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
However, increasing electricity demand requires an intensification of energy generation from clean technologies, and the energy system’s expansion is hindered by renewable generation’s climatic dependencies and the imperative for substantial electrical infrastructure investments.
This study provides crucial insights into overcoming the limitations posed by climatic dependencies of renewable energy and the significant investment required for electrical infrastructure expansion.
The FLEXINDUSTRIES project
FLEXINDUSTRIES is a strategic project to develop and test new energy efficiency solutions for energy intensive industries.
To achieve and exploit the results, the project must involve the scientific community and draw on technical expertise.
This will enable the advancement of knowledge and ensure the solutions fully match the needs of the industry.
The work undertaken will inform policy, including strategies such as the EU’s Green Deal. The project will also involve financial partners to help ensure cost-effective solutions.
Key findings to reduce energy intensive industries
The paper is a thorough evaluation of the flexibility mechanisms applicable to seven key sectors and FLEXINDUSTRIES pilots: the automotive industry, biofuel production, polymer manufacturing, steel manufacturing, paper mills, pharmaceutical industry, and cement production.
Conducted within the project’s framework, the research examines the current state of flexibility technologies, industries’ participation in energy markets, and their technical and operational readiness for implementing these mechanisms.
Key findings from the study emphasise the viability of enhancing energy market flexibility through demand-response programmes, which can offer substantial energy savings and operational benefits.
Overcoming technical hurdles
Furthermore, the paper identifies specific regulatory and technical hurdles that must be addressed to fully leverage these opportunities.
The study reveals that while energy intensive industries often limit their interaction with energy markets to simple energy purchasing, significant opportunities exist for explicit flexibility mechanisms, such as providing capacity and ‘Power to X’ in sectors like automotive, biofuel, and pharmaceuticals.
Implicit flexibility, such as optimising manageable loads in response to price signals, shows potential in industries like automotive, pharmaceuticals, and paper mills when tied to renewable energy sources or storage availability.
