Industry is undergoing a major transformation, and at its core is the drive towards carbon neutrality. Energy procurement and solutions play a key role in achieving this goal. At the same time, energy procurement and usage models are rapidly changing, and the number of service providers and different solutions is higher than ever. The steam and heat required by industrial companies’ processes and premises have often been produced at the companies’ own power plants, and purchasing electricity has been very straightforward, but the current situation comes with new opportunities and requirements.

In many industries, the transformation is also related to the opportunities offered by hydrogen economy and Power-to-X solutions. Companies aiming to be carbon neutral need to consider how to acquire the green hydrogen and/or its downstream products, such as methane or ammonia, required in the future. The related technologies and business models are changing, and companies have to decide whether to have in-house production facilities for the new products, rely on service providers’ solutions or purchase the products from the markets that are just starting to take shape.

In electricity procurement, the situation is similar. Electricity intensive industries in particular need to consider how to secure the availability of green electricity. Should companies build their own wind and/or solar power plants, acquire shares of production companies or purchase green electricity from the markets? Another aspect to take into consideration is that the new power-to-x solutions consume a lot of electricity.

There are also new solutions on offer for producing heat and, if necessary, cooling, when aiming to achieve carbon neutrality. These include more efficient use of waste heat from industrial processes, advanced heat pump technology, geothermal heat, energy storages etc. And it does not necessarily come down to just in-house use of heat – in many cases excess heat can be sold to district heating companies. The significance of this option is only highlighted if the plant site is to include the manufacturing of green hydrogen or its downstream products, which generates a lot of waste heat.

The key is to have as broad sector integration as possible, which helps increase the utilisation rate and efficiency for all sectors. With sector integration, several parties are engaged in the projects, which means that ownership and operating interfaces and operating models as well as pricing must be negotiated and agreed on by all the parties.

Fimpec’s competence

When solving the aforementioned complex equation, it is vital to be able to optimise the overall solution and integrate it with the carbon neutrality requirements. This is where Fimpec’s energy consulting services can help you.

We have in-depth knowledge of the energy markets, hydrogen economy and Power-to-X solutions, not to mention the available energy solutions and the operators in the field. Moreover, our experience in engineering and/or developing countless investment projects in different industrial sectors helps us understand the specific needs of the process industry. This comprehensive competence helps us find our customers the right solutions across industry boundaries.