Electrifying Industry

Australian manufacturing’s next wave of opportunity

September 2018

Lower costs, zero-carbon goods

The manufacturing sector plays a unique role in Australia's economy, driving growth in productivity, innovation, exports and high quality jobs. Our manufacturers are struggling to remain competitive due to rising energy costs - with many businesses' gas and electricity bills doubling in the past two years and nearly one in five jobs lost over the past decade. Electrifying Industry shows how renewable energy can reignite Australian manufacturing by reducing costs and producing zero-carbon goods.

Australia's opportunity to spark new investment

When you open a beer, read a book or buy a plastic drink bottle, do you think about how much energy is needed to make it? Manufacturers need massive amounts of heat to turn raw materials into everyday products. Electrifying industry is an unmissable opportunity to spark new investment in energy-intensive production and trigger a revival in Australian manufacturing for decades to come. Electrifying Industry explores five types of electrical heating technology and their application: industrial heat pumps, electromagnetic heating, electric furnaces, renewable hydrogen and heat storage.

Australia's opportunity to spark new investment

When you open a beer, read a book or buy a plastic drink bottle, do you think about how much energy is needed to make it? Manufacturers need massive amounts of heat to turn raw materials into everyday products. Electrifying industry is an unmissable opportunity to spark new investment in energy-intensive production and trigger a revival in Australian manufacturing for decades to come. Electrifying Industry explores five types of electrical heating technology and their application: industrial heat pumps, electromagnetic heating, electric furnaces, renewable hydrogen and heat storage.

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Transforming the manufacturing process

Electrifying Industry shows the electric heat technology that can replace existing methods:

Beer

heat pumps

Paper

infrared

Plastic

electrical resistance

Steel

renewable hydrogen & electric arc furnace

Industry leaders support this research

By electrifying industry, Australia can eliminate 8% of our total greenhouse gas emissions - the equivalent to taking our entire car fleet off the road.
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Our approach to energy efficiency

Why does electrification allow for more efficient use of energy?

Most fossil fuel-fired heating processes are inefficient, with much of the heat being wasted. Electrical heating technologies use energy more efficiently. They can:

  • Deliver heat at the precise temperature required (traditionally, industrial heat is often provided at temperatures well above what is needed)
  • Transfer heat directly to a material, with very little heat escaping to the environment
  • Provide heat at the point of use, minimising distribution losses
  • Sometimes avoid the need for heat altogether – for example using reverse osmosis to remove water or ultraviolet light to cure paints

What are other benefits of electrifying industrial process heat?

  • Electricity can power any heat transfer, such as waste incineration at 3,000 C°, whereas gas-fired processes have a limit of about 1,900 C°.
  • Electrical heat is faster. For example, technologies such as induction and infrared take only seconds or minutes for a task that could take a gas-fired system hours
  • Electricity is available everywhere - in off-grid locations, wind, solar power and batteries can provide a low-cost source of energy
  • Electrical heating reduces labour costs - most systems don't need constant monitoring like combustion heating systems
  • Energy security - we no longer have to rely on the volatile prices of fossil fuels

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