Why you should believe in the God of industrial production

While we were debating if global warming was real, it started.

As literally-minded pundits are pointing out, fossil fuels are not really made of dinosaurs. 

Nevertheless, we’ve been borrowing energy from the past, sending the bill to the future. To our kids. Each new generation accepting it as the way of the world. How noble. The UN Secretary-General has stated that “humanity has opened the gates of hell.” Climate change has already begun. It’s a dance of melting and burning. Literally. Our debt is being collected. There will be a price to pay.  We can accept reform now, or wait for the revolution to come. Either way, our world will change.  And by that, I mean, your world. The consequences of climate change are coming to you. Not just to your region or your government. But your business, your home, the career choices of your kids and the way you live everyday life. If you don’t believe this, you are amongst those who are still waiting to see how it goes. To you, choosing to change seems risky. You may have heard of some technical solutions, but want others to prove they work. You want others to “pay for the prototype”. However, if you think change is inevitable, the real risk is not not being prepared. You want to adapt sooner rather than later. You want the prototype. Adapting to change means saving your own time. By starting now. When change comes, and it will come, you have been practicing.

Steam is the standard to measure things by

We learned the key to the energy transition in school and then forgot.

How could it have happened? Either, it was so simple, so fundamental. Among the first things, you learned in school. Like first lessons, replaced by life experience. If you’ve already learned how to run, why walk? If you can read, why think about the alphabet?

Or, it was too complex. Just complex enough for it to be boring. Cumbersome. Who knows how to multiply beyond a factor of ten? Who can name conjugated verbs beyond past and present tense? Who can identify more than four elements on a periodic table? Or just one? As a kid in school you knew you should. Now, you think you could.

We think we know how the world works. We’ve been to school. We’ve grown up. We’re treating it as if we know the place. No white squares on the map. And no surprises. The truth is - the end use of energy and the secret to speeding up the energy transition is hidden lessons we all learned in school, and later forgot. The information is so fundamental and so complex, you have to believe in order to see it. Believe in what you already know to be true. You attended science classes in primary school. You know what heat does. It boils down to two simple facts - heat is the most important component of industrial production and it is delivered in the form of steam.

Steam, the God of industrial production

He who makes all things in your modern life. 

People know industrial production as well as Gods from Greek mythology. In other words, not at all. A powerful force, sure, but how does it really work? The world is filled with many important things. How can any one person be expected to know what makes all the wheels turn, and still have time to live? As it happens, this matches how ancient Greeks related to gods. To feel desire, was to experience Eros, the God of love. To fight a battle, was to experience Ares, the God of war. All of life’s most powerful forces, whose cause and effect were obscure, were the work of gods. Personified powers that helped to contextualize life and the world around. The effect of gods? Obvious! Doubting their existence? Absurd!

By sheer observation of the effect, steam is the god of industrial production. To live a modern life is to experience Steam. He who makes all things in your modern life. If you have a raw material and want to make it into something else, you’re summoning the god of industrial production. If it wasn’t for steam, your world would still be handmade. It’s one of the most fundamental forces ever harnessed by modern man. Even nuclear, gas and coal power plants really just exist to run a steam generator. If not for the heat, then for the electricity it supplies. If water is a sign of life on other planets, steam would be a sign of advanced civilization. 

Steam makes the toolbox of manufacturing

All the processes used to transform a material into the thing you need. 

Most people think we left steam behind on the platform of some Harry Potter fantasy land. A nostalgic piece of magic puffing away at the Industrial Revolution. The truth is, steam just disappeared into the pipe that heats whatever the industry is producing. The list of affected processes reads like a toolbox of manufacturing. The reason? Steam is the single most effective way to deliver heat. At a wide range of temperatures. Even a non-exhaustive list is long. Steam is used to:

• Melt
• Shape
• Dry
• Separate
• Sterilize
• Hydrolyse
• Vulcanize
• Cure
• Clean
• Cook
• Tan
• Bleach

It’s not some industrial issue. It’s the single most important end use of energy and touches every product in modern life. Knowing that underlying fact changes everything. Yet, we cannot expect the general public to care about every industrial process. They care about the products they are using. 

All things made using Steam

Six industries that produce everything in your life. 

Steam produces the processed food you eat, the clothes you wear, every piece of paper and every scrolling screen. It’s in the pill you pop and all the consumption you can’t really choose to stop. In our world, humans couldn’t function without steam. 

Six industries most people rely on for modern life. 

1. Food

Includes all kinds of processed foods, canned goods, dairy products, and beverages.

2. Paper and pulp

All types of paper, cardboard, specialty papers, and printed materials.

3. Chemicals

Among others: synthetic fibers in clothes, plastic, medicine and fertilizers.

4. All products of metal, not made of iron

To name a few: electronics, batteries, car parts, soda cans. 

5. All products made of minerals

Produces things like cement for construction, glass for windows and bottles, and ceramics and tiles for various uses.

6. Iron and steel

Although out of the temperature range of melting, steam is integral in producing steel sheets, bars, coils, structural beams, railroad tracks, and pipes in the iron and steel industry.

Why steam is made using fossil fuels

All things modern are produced using fossil fuels, because the alternative has appeared to be worse. Until recently.

90% of process heat generation in the form of steam is made from fossil sources. What was once set up to preserve efficiency, is no longer serving us well. It was never that efficient. It was allowed to survive because the alternative was much worse. Coal and gas power plants have been using fossil fuels to make electricity since the 1880s. They made electricity from the heat of fire. Only half of that energy ever created made it into the wire. Even at optimal circumstances. This fact had dramatic effects on how our energy systems have evolved. As a result every factory in need of process heat, through steam, would themselves become a polluter. Instead of just an electricity user. Each piece of coal or tank of gas produced more heat if burned on the premises, locally, than it would have done as electricity through the grid. In other words, if heat was what you needed, turning it into electricity or gas first, was a waste of energy. When we no longer use fossil fuels to begin with, this is no longer true. 

The four main reasons why most steam production has remained fossil fuel-based.

1. Energy efficiency demanded each factory burn their own fuel to create heat. 

After all, heat from fire is almost the most efficient way to make it.

2. Grid capacity has never been developed to handle industrial demand for electricity.

Because electricity for industrial process heat was indeed inefficient if the energy chain began with fire. But also because storage solutions have not been adopted to reduce the amount of grid capacity needed to deal with peak loads. 

3. Policies have discouraged the use of electricity for heat

Since most of our electricity comes from coal and gas, taxes have been implemented to maintain the highest degree of efficiency and therefore “punish” financially those who wanted to use electricity for heat instead.

4. Price of electricity has been 2-3 times higher than price of fuel

The sad fact is that heat made from electricity can be made at 98% efficiency. The only requirement is that you generate electricity without fossil fuels. Although decreasing, the proportion of fossil fuels being used to generate electricity remains at 38% to this day. A number expected to drop further in the coming years as more and more electricity is from renewable sources. 

How to replace fossil fuels: 6 unfair comparisons

When rebuilding the energy system, beware of silver bullets.

Doing nothing is the most expensive solution to global warming. Compared to that, many solutions seem deceptively ideal.  If we started from scratch it would be possible to rebuild our current energy system in any number of ways. It’s a dangerous mix of circumstances. A chance to reshuffle the world of energy, an increasing willingness to solve it at all costs and the weightlessness of an ideal world each solution proposes. Suddenly everything seems possible. Yes, Hydrogen burns clean, but using rocket fuel to heat your bath water is impractical. Yes, a small nuclear plant in every county solves issues, but in what timeframe would the public trust your local mayor not to re-enact Chernobyl? As the list goes on it becomes clear that the problem of not using fossil fuels has multiple layers of complexity. Your solution of choice may not emit a single puff of CO2, but require a lot of electricity to make. It may produce an abundance of local electricity, but have an extremely binary risk profile and high price. It may allow for massive amounts of renewable energy, but require grid expansion into natural habitats we should preserve. These are not just trade-offs you can make on behalf of the electorate. 

No matter what energy horse you are backing, it needs to solve more than one problem at a time. It doesn’t matter how ideal the solution is, if for any reason you are not able to make it a reality in time to have an impact. We should avoid tales of silver bullet solutions. The race is not fair. We’re not starting from scratch.  Each region has its own advantages. Each industry has a set of competencies to draw on. This race is about the art of the possible. There will be more than one winner, and the winner is the solution that involves the largest number of people.

This is our unfair comparison of all the current contenders

1. Hydrogen requires too much electricity

The closest thing to setting water on fire requires a lot of electricity to produce, through electrolysis. All in a time where we have to solve for lack of capacity when racing to electrify as much as possible, in order to cut emissions. Useful for transport because fuel cells allow for the transportation of energy-dense material.  

2. Nuclear energy is really really expensive

The promise of small-sized local nuclear power plants that spare natural habitats from expansive grid projects and wind turbine land grabs, is undoubtedly tempting. However, the high price, controversial waste and for some - brand-new technology, all mean slow pace of implementation. Will it ever come to those who wait?

3. Massively expanding the grid takes too long

In some countries, the current grid capacity took a hundred years to build. We need to double it, but face the danger of encroaching on natural habitats and the corresponding resistance from the NIMBY lobby.

4. Batteries need rare minerals and high-price

Storage is a key piece of equipment in the energy transition, as it helps to shift the load of peak hour consumption. However, lithium-ion batteries remain too expensive for all the industrial users that would benefit. And requires mining resources from a finite supply of minerals.

5. No tank holds the wind or the sun

Although plentiful and, in principle, free, renewable energies come with drawbacks. You cannot run industrial production as if it was a ship at sea. Renewables need a battery storage function.  

While all of these are part of the solution, it remains crucial to know the difference between them. All tools are not suitable for all jobs. It also matters which solutions can be adopted on a large scale, by as many people as possible in the near future for a specific region. We cannot wait for some future technology that one day may or may not be available. We need to use what is already available, work with what we already know and take the steps that are most effective. Now. Not in ten to fifteen years.

Five arguments for storing heat when making steam.

Of all solutions, the simplest alternative is likely the best.

Occams razor is a much-quoted principle in science that basically states - all things being equal, the simplest alternative is likely the best. Few things can beat the simplicity of thermal storage. A multitude of alternatives in the green shift are plagued with a decade-long timeline, moon shot budgets, lack of consensus needed to take action, threat to habitats and lack of natural resources. Thermal storage suffers from none of these issues. 

All it needs is for the end users of energy to believe in the power of industrial production. A system set up to serve them - the people and by association, the producers. All it needs is for those whom the story is really about, to understand their part in it. In the absence of four-letter billionaires and governments with deep pockets providing bigger sockets. In this story, you are the hero you’re waiting for. 

Top six arguments for thermal storage

1. High energy efficiency

Thermal storage systems efficiently capture and retain energy, utilizing technologies like resistive heaters and molten salt that operate at up to 98% efficiency before steam generation. This maximizes energy use, enhancing system sustainability.

2. Economical for industrial producers

Thermal storage is cost-effective in terms of both operational expenditures (opex) and capital expenditures (capex). By using energy during low-cost periods, it reduces energy bills, while the relatively low initial investment in thermal storage technology often pays off through significant long-term savings and increased energy management flexibility.

3. Load shift to adopt more renewable energy

This system stores excess renewable energy and releases it during low production, helping stabilize the grid. It bridges the gap between renewable energy availability and demand, facilitating a shift away from fossil fuels.

4. Give industry agency in the green shift

Thermal storage provides industrial users control over their energy consumption, enabling them to reduce emissions, comply with regulations, and potentially avoid carbon taxes, directly contributing to global decarbonization efforts.

5. Offer decarbonized consumer products

Using thermal storage, manufacturers can offer products with lower carbon footprints, allowing consumers to choose sustainably made goods, promoting environmental consciousness and supporting the green shift in consumer behavior.

6. Accelerated Adoption Speed

The combined benefits of thermal storage—cost savings, high energy efficiency, alignment with renewable energy, and enhanced sustainability—significantly accelerate its adoption. Industrial producers are motivated by the dual financial benefits of reduced opex and capex, while compliance with environmental regulations and consumer demand for green products further drive rapid implementation. The ability to quickly integrate and see returns from thermal storage systems encourages more businesses and sectors to adopt this technology, promoting a swift transition towards a greener economy.

How to revenue stack your steam production

Grid operators must follow the league play of football matches and soap operas, and you can get paid to help them. 

Sunday afternoon, England: It’s almost halftime, and an important football match is drawing a large audience to television sets all across the country. More importantly, their tea has gone cold.  It won’t do. As soon as the referee blows the whistle, teams will walk off the pitch for a breather. The grid operators, however, will start holding their breath. Another march has just started. One whole nation of British football supporters are off to the kitchen, to put the kettle on. At halftime energy demand spikes a whole power plant’s worth, for fifteen minutes. Because of the quest for tea and snacks. It is the reason why grid operators everywhere must pay attention to league play, commercial breaks in the season finale of any popular soap opera, or anything else that draws a crowd. British grid operators used to call France for help, asking them to increase output at a given time - hoping that it wouldn’t take too long to carry injured players off the pitch, delaying the start of the halftime “Kettle effect”. If it did, there would be blackouts across the country. Today things are more automatic, Nonetheless, anyone with reserve capacity can get paid for their contribution. 

Be paid not to charge, or paid to charge at a moment's notice.

Everyone connected to the grid affects the balance. Whether it be a nation of tea drinkers, electrified industrial production or the increasing volume of renewable energy sources producing power from the ever-changing weather. In order for the grid to transport electricity, it must do so at a constant frequency. Simply put, supply must equal demand. It’s not some economic theory, it's a technical requirement for electronic gadgets to work. The amount of electricity generated must equal the amount of electricity used. Not just at noon tomorrow, Now. Every second of every day. All the time. No matter what. 

In order to achieve this absolute requirement of balance, a market of “ancillary services” has been set up to allow the grid to purchase reserve capacity within the system, as needed. Both when too much electricity is generated, and too little. Essentially you can be paid for the inconvenience of not charging your battery, or maintaining readiness to do so at a moment's notice. It means your thermal battery is no longer an out-of-pocket investment, but a source of new considerable revenue streams.

Four ways to revenue stack a thermal battery:

1. Being paid not to charge - demand response.

 This service involves reducing or delaying the charging of the thermal battery during periods when the grid is under stress or when electricity prices are high. This may be for seconds or minutes. By not charging, the thermal battery reduces the overall demand on the grid, helping to balance supply and demand. This can be particularly valuable during peak load times.

2. Be paid to be ready to charge at a moment's notice - spinning reserve:

Although typically associated with power generation, in the context of thermal batteries, spinning reserve can mean maintaining a state where the battery is ready to absorb power quickly if there's an excess. By not charging and staying in a ready state, the battery can act swiftly to stabilize the grid by absorbing surplus electricity when needed.

3. Be paid to keep voltage up locally - Voltage Support (reactive power management): 

A bit of the voltage in the wire is there to help the rest of the electricity reach its destination. This voltage level has to be maintained also in your local district grid, by not consuming power when voltages are low, thus not exacerbating the problem.

4. Be paid to stay off the grid completely at peak hours. Load Shifting

By intentionally not charging during certain hours and shifting the charge to times when the grid is less strained, thermal batteries can help smooth out the daily demand profile, reducing the need for fast ramping of traditional power plants.

4 steps: How to decarbonize a donut?

There will be no energy transition without it. 

Nobody bites into a delicious donut without emissions. Of course, it doesn’t just apply to pastry. Everything in your life comes with an exhaust pipe. It’s invisible and everywhere. Avoid air travel, buy an electric car or skip meat for dinner? It matters not. Right now, you will fail to live life without emissions. You are not actually puffing smoke into the air, but without it there would be no food, no clothes, no medicine, no metals and no paper. Steam manufactures them all. Every puff of that steam is created with fire and smoke. It is said - polluter pays. They mean - producers pay. For the privilege of polluting. But they’re not doing it for fun. They’re doing it for you. Soon you will be in a position to see it. The invisible exhaust pipe will be forced into the open. By law. Producers will have to report on not only their own emissions but every puff of CO2 that went into every component. Even the delicious donut. The actual success of decarbonizing a donut can serve as a litmus test for what the industry must achieve, and how to achieve it.

How would you actually go about decarbonizing a single donut and the processed food plant that baked it. 

Admit there be fossils in it.

ESG - reporting will demand that every single producer reports what was emitted when baking their product, and all the products they used to make it. Giving you a clear picture of what products emit the least. 

Replace gas boiler with thermal storage

In many instances, industry uses a burner of some kind to produce the steam they need. That may be replaced by a thermal battery using electricity and capable of storing heat.  It is the cheapest and most energy-efficient way of electrifying the need for steam.  

Install solar power on the roof, behind the meter. 

Behind the meter simply means - for your own consumption. While producing your own power is not mandatory, it is part of documenting that the energy used to manufacture a product is clean. It will also be a step towards self-sufficiency. Once they have a storage solution, the operation is not limited to using that power in daytime or when the sun is actually shining. This will reduce energy cost and contribute to peak shaving, in other words - staying off the grid when prices are high.

Connect to the grid using an Energy Management System (EMS)

This is about how the battery is used. Being connected to the grid as a sort of “prosumer” on an industrial scale, comes with commitment. The grid must be able to cut out any individual factory, when demand for power is too high. Or offload power, if supply is too high. It’s a service each factory can get paid for, through what is called an ancillary service market. At the same time, they should be able to charge when prices are low, and sell electricity, when prices are high. And of course supply the factory with the steam it needs. All in all these demands are all being regulated every second, as demands made to the battery, from the energy management system.

Producers of everyday consumer products, and all their component parts, have a symbiotic relationship with consumers. None can survive without the other. When it becomes apparent exactly how much any particular donut has polluted, consumers are likely to prefer the one that polluted less. And producers are likely to want to make it. Even if it comes at a premium. To achieve this effect companies wanting to electrify using storage, solar and wind power, should be supported. By government, grid companies and conscientious consumers. Whether the consumers realize or not, the struggle will be to decarbonize steam production. And supply must come before demand. For those who succeed, the demand for clean fossil free products will be high.