Electrification Of Industrial Boilers

In U.S. manufacturing, thermal processes account for approximately 75% of the total final energy demand, of which nearly 17% is consumed by conventional industrial boilers for steam generation in 2018 (this does not include boilers for combined heat and power – CHP). The share of conventional boilers energy use from total manufacturing energy use is often higher in countries with lower share of CHP. Steam is generally used in industry to regulate temperatures and pressures in chemical processes, dry products, strip impurities from process fluids, etc. Although all kinds of energy sources can generate steam, fossil fuels’-fired boilers are dominant in the U.S. and globally. This makes industrial boilers a substantial source of GHG emissions in industry. With rapid deployment of renewable energies and decarbonization of electricity grid, it is time to seriously consider electric boilers as a key tool for deep decarbonization of industry.

Global Efficiency Intelligence, LLC has partnered with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to conduct one of the most comprehensive studies for electrification of industrial boilers in the U.S. This study aims to: a) examine the boiler energy demand in the U.S. industrial sectors both at the national and states level, b) quantify the potential opportunity to electrify the U.S. industrial boiler systems, and c) identify the barriers and drivers to the wide-scale application of electric boilers and proposals to overcome the barriers. This work employs a bottom-up approach to investigate the sector-level and state-level techno-economic potentials of deploying electric boilers for steam generation in the U.S. industry in different timeframes. The techno-economic analysis will include detailed assessment of boiler electrification in all 50 states and will present results for each state separately.

To read the full report and see complete results and analysis of this study, Download the full report from this link.