Chemicals and electrification: a guide for businesses
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Electrification of the chemical industry means replacing fossil fuels and fossil feedstocks in chemical processes with technologies that run on renewable electricity. The sector is hard to electrify because its processes require very high temperatures and high-pressure steam, and because fossil carbon is also part of the product itself. At the same time it is crucial: the chemical industry is among the largest industrial energy users in the Netherlands.
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Chemicals and electrification: scattered information versus Energy Intelligence
The chemical industry produces the building blocks for almost everything around us: plastics, coatings, medicines, detergents and fertilisers. This happens in energy-intensive plants that largely run on natural gas and oil products, concentrated in a handful of Dutch industrial clusters. Anyone doing business in or around such a cluster can already see the shift: electric steam boilers appear next to gas boilers and heavier grid connections are being built. This page explains why the chemical industry is such a difficult, yet such a decisive sector in industrial electrification.
- Steam crackers operate at temperatures around 850 degrees Celsius; electric boilers and industrial heat pumps currently cover mainly the steam and heat demand below that, while electric cracking is at the demonstration stage.
- In the chemical industry, fossil oil and gas are not only fuel but also feedstock; green hydrogen from electrolysis and electrochemistry are routes to decarbonise that feedstock side as well.
- Full electrification would require a multiple of the sector's current power demand; the Netherlands therefore combines grid reinforcement, landing offshore wind near industrial clusters, cluster plans and tailored agreements.
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Why is the chemical industry so hard to electrify?
The chemical industry runs on large amounts of high-temperature heat. Steam crackers that convert naphtha into building blocks for plastics operate at temperatures around 850 degrees Celsius. Plants also use large volumes of high-pressure steam, currently produced mainly with gas-fired boilers and combined heat and power installations. Electric alternatives for the highest temperatures are still very much in development. There is also a second layer: fossil oil and gas are not only fuel but also feedstock. The carbon from naphtha literally ends up in the final product, such as plastics and coatings. An electric furnace does not solve that feedstock question. Finally, chemical plants run continuously, so conversions are only possible during planned maintenance stops and require years of preparation.
- Steam crackers require temperatures around 850 degrees Celsius; electric versions are not yet proven at scale.
- Many processes run on high-pressure steam, which currently comes mainly from natural gas.
- Fossil carbon is also feedstock: it ends up in products such as plastics and coatings.
- Plants run continuously; conversion is only possible during planned maintenance stops.
Which electric routes does the chemical industry have?
For steam and heat, technologies are available today. Electric steam boilers, also called e-boilers, produce steam directly with electricity and can run flexibly at moments with abundant renewable power. Industrial heat pumps upgrade residual heat into usable process heat; they currently deliver temperatures up to about 150 degrees Celsius, with higher temperatures in development. For the highest temperatures, electrically heated cracking furnaces, known as e-cracking, are being developed; the first demonstration units are running. On the feedstock side, green hydrogen from electrolysis is a key route: hydrogen is already a feedstock for ammonia and methanol, among others, but today it is mostly made from natural gas. Electrochemistry, in which molecules are made directly with electricity, is still largely at the laboratory and pilot stage.
- E-boilers produce steam with electricity and can be deployed now, often hybrid alongside a gas boiler.
- Industrial heat pumps use residual heat and currently deliver heat up to about 150 degrees Celsius.
- Electric cracking furnaces (e-cracking) are at the demonstration stage.
- Green hydrogen from electrolysis decarbonises the feedstock side, for example for ammonia and methanol.
- Electrochemistry is promising, but still largely laboratory and pilot work.
What does this require from the energy system?
Far-reaching electrification of the chemical industry means a multiple of the sector's current electricity demand. That power must be generated renewably and delivered to the plants. Grid reinforcement and new high-voltage connections are therefore part of this transition, as is the landing of offshore wind: the point where cables from offshore wind farms come ashore, preferably close to the industrial clusters. The Netherlands works with six industrial clusters that map their future energy needs in Cluster Energy Strategies, so grid operators and government can plan accordingly. In addition, the national government concludes tailored agreements with the largest industrial emitters about their decarbonisation. Points of attention remain: grid expansion has long lead times and part of the technology still has to prove itself at industrial scale.
- Far-reaching electrification requires a multiple of the chemical industry's current power demand.
- Grid reinforcement and landing offshore wind near industrial clusters are preconditions.
- Six industrial clusters map their energy needs in Cluster Energy Strategies.
- The Dutch government concludes tailored agreements with the largest industrial emitters.
- Grid expansion has long lead times and part of the technology is at the demonstration stage.
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