Faster electrification of industry

Electrification can make an important contribution to a climate-neutral industry. Some technologies, such as the heat pump and steam boiler, are already in use. Other technologies are still in an experimental phase. But it is not enough if a technology looks promising in the laboratory. It really has to prove itself on a larger scale before companies will incorporate it into their existing processes. That is why an operational test environment is currently being built at the Fieldlab Industrial Electrification.

The Fieldlab Industrial Electrification (FLIE) was established to develop promising innovations into proven technology on an industrial scale. By doing so, the FLIE wants to support the energy transition in the Rotterdam port area in a practical way. In addition to the test environment, the FLIE helps the industry with, for example, feasibility studies, workshops, support for subsidy applications and advice on laws and regulations. The FLIE has already made successful matches between technology suppliers and parties such as Shell and Ducor. These involved storage and reuse of waste heat.

Test Environment

But a Fieldlab is not complete without a real test environment, and that is coming. Deputy Director Peter van Hooft explains: 'The industry certainly wants to go along with the energy transition, but it also has to make money. You can't shut down the factory for a year to start innovating. With an industrial-scale test environment, you don't have to: we offer a place where industry can test without risk. Our pilot hall is on the grounds of Plant One Rotterdam. It is an ideal location: it employs people who know the process industry inside out, there is the right infrastructure here and there is an umbrella permit.' The FLIE is an initiative of founders Deltalinqs, FME, InnovationQuarter, Port of Rotterdam and TNO. Of the thirteen people working there, two are full-time employees: director Josepha van Kollenburg and office manager Marga van der Aart. The rest of the team consists of business developers, project managers, a communications manager and a controller, who are given space from their own organizations to devote themselves to the FLIE. Peter continues: "Plant One Rotterdam and FLIE share the same ambitions and the knowledge, expertise and network complement each other well.

Three production lines

The hall will house three different production lines in the coming months. Peter: "We chose these three lines based on demand from the industry. The first is a power-to-heat line. This involves smart reuse of residual heat or steam. We simulate an industrial environment and link to it, for example, a device that can store heat. Or a device that can release steam to a storage system or convert it to electricity. In the second production line, we will work on indirect conversion of CO2. We start by making hydrogen from water through electrolysis. We take that along with CO2 from the air to a conversion unit. In this the CO2 is converted into other chemical building blocks, for example dimethyl ether (DME), methanol or ethanol. The 100 kW electrolyzer we put here already has quite a scale. The conversion unit is ten meters high; the setups are really a step closer to final application in industry in terms of size and thus process technology challenges. In addition, most of the equipment is also mobile, so on-site validation is also possible.' The third production line involves direct conversion of CO2. 'Here we make other chemical building blocks such as CO, formaldehyde, formic acid or ethylene from CO2 via an electrochemical process,' Peter explains. 'This technology is now less advanced than the previous two, but is definitely going to get there. Several parties have parts of the technology available and are eager to do expensive tests. In five to 10 years we will reap the benefits of this.'

Doors open

The doors of the FLIE are wide open to industrial companies that want to electrify but are not yet sure what the best solution is for them, or want to test new technology on an industrial scale. 'Above all, come and talk to us,' is Peter's appeal. 'Indicate where your challenges are and we can help select good solutions for your specific processes and residual streams. The climate challenge is big, but doable. I would like to see the industry join us in large numbers and, together with the FLIE, show us: we can do this together!'

The prospects for electrification of industry are very interesting, but today's practice may be even more interesting. After all, how are companies in Belgium and the Netherlands already working on electrification today? Izak Boot, Lead Engineer Energy at Bilfinger Tebodin, can give some concrete examples of this.

'First of all, you have to remember that there is still a lot of potential in using your energy more efficiently,' says Izak. 'But that is complicated for many industrial companies. You would like to use the waste heat that is released by some process parts, but often it is difficult to access or simply not profitable enough. The payback period is then too long to make it profitable according to current standards. A shame, because I think this is really missing a big opportunity in the industry. By accepting a slightly higher payback period of, say, seven or eight years, twice as much energy can be saved, with still a nice financial return. Smart use of waste heat and upgrading it with a heat pump, for example, is still one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing CO2 and saving energy.'

Electric boiler

One promising option that many companies do use to reduce their CO2 emissions is direct electrification of some plant components. 'A good example is the use of an electric boiler to produce steam or hot water. This step is often taken out of the need to reduce CO2,' Izak knows, 'because here too it is a costly investment, but especially in terms of operational costs it is often a factor of 2 to 3 more expensive than a traditional gas-fired boiler.  Advantages, of course, are that you save CO2 emissions, and since the price per ton of CO2 emissions is rising, the electric boiler is becoming more and more interesting. Another phenomenon is that the price of electricity fluctuates due to weather-related fluctuations in electricity production from sun and wind. A hybrid boiler house can respond to these fluctuations by choosing the fuel that is cheapest and when the price of electricity is low, using the e-boiler.'

Heineken

Currently, Izak and his team are working on electrification of Heineken's steam supply. This company has outlined in a roadmap how they want to be CO2-neutral in all breweries worldwide by 2030 and even in the entire chain from 2040. Part of this includes making the brewery in Zoeterwoude more efficient, but that is not the only thing. The steam supply is also being made more sustainable. Part of the steam supply will be replaced by hot water, and this required heat will be produced by heat pumps. For another part, Heineken still uses a boiler that runs partly on natural gas and partly on biogas. Together with Eneco and Bilfinger Tebodin, Heineken is now working to make the remaining steam demand more sustainable by installing an electric steam boiler. The role of Izak and his team is to optimally integrate the e-boiler into the production process. Previous experience with this was gained by Izak in the paper industry and district heating. 'For Heineken we are now in the final design phase. By 2023 the e-boiler should be in use and an important step has been taken in the greening of the brewery.'

Not applicable everywhere profitably

Is industrial electrification applicable and interesting everywhere? 'No. Currently, an important condition for successful industrial electrification is the presence of a large, heavy electricity connection,' Izak argues, 'Because if you still have to have this installed, that greatly increases the cost and lead time and makes it difficult to make it profitable. Moreover, application of an e-boiler requires attention to smart integration into the existing system. For low-temperature processes there are more advantageous applications, for example integration of waste heat or a heat pump.'