Bottom-up methodology for assessing electrification options for deep decarbonisation of industrial processes

Industrial processes currently account for a signifcant share (25–35 %) of the world’s total energy demand and related emissions. During recent years, the amount of low-carbon electricity from renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar) has increased continuously. Tere is therefore an increasing interest
in electrifcation of industrial processes in order to achieve long-term decarbonisation goals. Structural changes in the capital-intensive processing industry take a long time to implement. Furthermore, the number of possible technologies and systems for electrifcation of industrial processes is high, and diferent technologies and combinations of technologies will have diferent performance both in terms of economy and carbon footprint. For industrial
decision-makers, it is important both to understand such systemic efects of electrifcation technologies and to discard low-performing candidates at an early stage. So far, studies on industrial electrifcation have focused on top-down approaches using explorative scenarios for analysing the consequences of
a sector-wide full electrifcation assuming greenfeld investments. Tere is a lack of studies adopting a bottom-up perspective for investigation of partial electrifcation options in brownfeld investments at existing sites including process integration aspects and system consequences as well as the impacts on overall energy efciency. The objective of this paper is to propose a methodology for bottom-up assessments of industrial electrifcation options and to demonstrate this methodology with a case study. For this purpose, a bottom-up methodology that especially accounts for the systematic efects of increased electrifcation on a plant level was developed and then applied to the steam system of an oil refnery plant in Sweden. Te results show that the energy and
carbon footprint consequences of such measures are hard to predict without detailed modelling studies since industrial process unit operations are highly interlinked. Furthermore, the results from the techno-economic as well as carbon footprint bottomup assessments can be used to compare electrifcation with other decarbonisation options and to formulate detailed roadmaps for
decarbonization of energy-intensive industrial processes.