Finding ways to electrify the industrial sector

Energy is used in the industrial sector for a wide range of purposes, such as in assembly and manufacturing lines and for heating and cooling process.

The sector accounts for nearly a quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions and is one of the most important sectors of the economy to decarbonise.

Sandro Luh, a student researcher based in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College, is investigating whether some industrial processes and technologies can be electrified to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. He is part of an exchange programme with ETH Zurich in Switzerland, and is spending the next six months working with the energy systems modelling (MUSE) team at the Sustainable Gas Institute (SGI).  Sandro will be supervised by Dr Sara Budinis.

We asked Sandro about his research plans.

1. What is your background? How did you find out about the Institute?

Both my first degree and masters are in Mechanical Engineering. During my studies, I focused on energy science and I became not only interested in the different technologies, but also in the various economic and political impacts.  I also wanted to do my master’s thesis in a foreign country, and so my supervisor at ETH Zurich, Prof. Schmidt, recommended the Sustainable Gas Institute.

The research at the Institute interested me as natural gas will still be an important energy carrier in the medium-term as transitional solution on the way to a decarbonised energy system, especially while we solve issues related to renewables such as intermittency.

I was also very interested in working on the new energy systems model as it can show opportunities and challenges for the energy industry.

2. Why is it so important to decarbonise the industrial sector?

It is important to make the industrial sector more efficient, because it is currently characterised by high-energy consumption and therefore high carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In 2014 for example, it  accounted for 24% of the total global CO₂ emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the energy consumption in the industrial sector is  also expected to grow by an annual average of 1.2% until 2040. The decarbonisation of the industrial sector and the corresponding decoupling of industrial production and CO₂ emissions, has a crucial role to meet ambitious climate targets.

3. How will you be contributing to the MUSE energy model?

My supervisor Sara is developing the industrial sector for the new energy systems model called MUSE, which is a novel simulation tool that takes a whole energy systems approach to see how we could transition to a low carbon world.

My task is to evaluate different processes and technologies that are suitable for increasing electrification of the industrial sector in the future energy system. The second task will be to use MUSE to analyse the impact of a portfolio of technologies. We will be performing a techno-economic analysis within the MUSE-framework to study the impacts that electrification could have on the future energy system and how this could help to reduce emissions.

4. How do you conduct a technological economic analysis?

You are basically testing the economic feasibility of a technology. We use different methods, such as investigating cash flows over the lifetime of the plant, or an evaluation of cost variations based on learning rates and economies of scale. There are definite cost reductions as technology manufacturers accumulate experience, and this can be incorporated into models such as MUSE. We also plan on comparing the economic profitability of different technologies that produce the same commodity. For example, we look at the production of steel with scrap-based electric arc furnaces versus other methods.

5. What will be the output from your research?

I will hopefully show the impact of industrial electrification on energy consumption and carbon emission profiles. Assuming that electrification alone will not be sufficient to reduce the industrial emissions in a way that meet the Paris Climate Agreement, the research will also  show that a portfolio of technologies, like carbon capture and storage, is necessary to decarbonise the global industrial sector.

6. Would you say that this research is quite unique?

To answer this question, we have to divide my work in two parts: The first part, which is the evaluation of promising technologies for industrial electrification, is something that other organisations and researchers are examining as well. For example, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has broadly discussed different technologies in their recent Energy Technology Perspective 2017.

However, the second part of my work is quite truly unique: This is, because I have the opportunity to make use of the power of the MUSE-framework, where I will implement these technologies. With this, we will be able to get robust data about the impact of  electrification on the future global energy system. As MUSE allows us to analyse the complex relationships among technology, economy, international policies, and environment we can analyse the results from different perspectives.

7. What motivated you to work in the area of energy research?

My interest in the field of climate change and the corresponding energy transition grew over time when I learnt about the risks of climate change, and potential pathways  to mitigate it. By seeing the massive impacts that this issue has in the world nowadays and in the future, I have the potential as an engineer to create a real, valuable impact to abate climate change. In my eyes, mitigation of climate change will be the most challenging task of the society in this century and thereafter.

8. What attracted you or influenced you to becoming an engineer?

First, I should mention my father here, because he is an engineer as well. When I was still a little child it was always exciting for me to hear and learn about what he works on. So, I already grew up having in mind the interesting field of engineering. Later, this general interest has transformed into a passion for technology and science, which has finally pushed me to become an engineer.