In mid-June 2023, the roadmaps for the decarbonization of the 50 sites representing 55% of the CO2 emissions of French industry were presented to the government. Developed by the manufacturers concerned, in conjunction with State experts, these roadmaps identify electricity as the first lever for this decarbonization.
While electrification is now a tangible reality for mobility, the phenomenon is less visible for industry. And yet, the industrialists established in France who are large energy consumers are all embarking on the electrification of their processes. According to a recent report (Columbus Consulting, 2022), industrial furnaces represent 60% of industrial heating energy consumption in France and 90% of the energy consumed by these activities comes from fossil fuels. Also, Arcelor Mittal announced last year that it wanted to install electric arc furnaces on its Dunkirk (North) and Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône) sites. Papermakers, for their part, are interested in installing heat pumps to replace their drying equipment, which is powered by fossil fuels.
Unbeatable performance
The electricity fairy attracts all the attention for several reasons. Firstly because it is mostly produced in a carbon-free way in France. Secondly, because it offers the best efficiency: for 100 kWh of electricity consumed, a heat pump can typically restore 300 kWh of heat, ie an efficiency of 300%, to cite just one example. Finally, the electrification of industrial processes is also a question of competitiveness, with the inevitable rise in the price of energy and carbon.
If this phenomenon of electrification is thus set in motion, it is also because technological solutions – heat pumps, resistors, induction, etc. – exist and gradually reach temperatures as high as traditional equipment running on fossil fuels. The electrification of industrial processes is therefore a sector in the making with the development and supply of ever more efficient and suitable electrical equipment. A sector that would naturally develop in France and Europe, which already have recognized manufacturers of electric industrial furnaces and heat pumps, such as Fives and ECM Technologies for example. THE Net Zero Industry Act European Union is also moving in the direction of favoring producers of heat pumps.
Strong increase in connection requests
But this electrification of industrial processes, and therefore, the development of the related sector can only be achieved under certain conditions. The first of these is obviously access to sufficient electricity. The latest study by RTE, the electricity transmission system operator, published in early June, indicates that in a scenario where all the objectives of decarbonization and strengthening of industrial sovereignty are met, electricity consumption could reach 580 to 640 TWh. in 2035, compared to 453 TWh consumed in 2022.
Powering this new electrical equipment therefore requires resizing the electrical supply chain. RTE has recorded a near doubling of requests for electrical connections from manufacturers over the last 18 months. Power requirements have also increased significantly. A connection can take between 5 and 7 years. It will be necessary to accelerate and prioritize certain projects according to their maturity. We can therefore welcome the simplifications provided for in the law on the acceleration of renewable energies.
The speed of deployment is essential to support the electrification of industry, that of the 50 most carbon-emitting sites but also that of the thousand French industrial companies of intermediate size. A sine qua non condition for promoting the development in France and Europe of a sector capable of offering differentiated, competitive and innovative products, such as electric industrial furnaces and high-temperature heat pumps.
* Laurent Bataille is President of Schneider Electric France