Electric systems power the factories that produce everyday items like milk, cereal, paper, soap, beer, and cleaning products, and these facilities rely heavily on heat to wash, cook, dry, boil, and sterilize materials. However, manufacturers currently generate most of this heat by burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, which releases large amounts of carbon dioxide and accelerates climate change. As a result, new analysis shows that switching from gas-based heat to electric heat can cut up to one gigaton of carbon dioxide over time. Moreover, this shift does not depend on future breakthroughs, because factories already use many of the required electric technologies today.
How Factories Use Heat and Why It Matters
Industrial heat is different from the heat people use at home. Factories often need hot water, steam, or warm air running all day and night. This heat is used to pasteurize milk, cook grains, dry paper, clean equipment, and shape chemical products.
In the United States, the industrial sector is one of the biggest sources of carbon pollution. A large share of this pollution comes from boilers, ovens, and dryers powered by gas. These machines are reliable, but they are also dirty.
Many factories do not need extreme temperatures. Food processing plants, paper mills, and chemical facilities usually operate at low or medium heat levels. This is important because electric technologies work best in this range. Electric boilers can replace gas boilers without changing how the factory works. Electric ovens and dryers can do the same jobs as gas-fired ones. Heat pumps, which move heat instead of creating it from fuel, can deliver the same warmth using much less energy.
When clean electricity from wind or solar powers these electric systems, pollution drops sharply. In states with cleaner electricity, switching to electric systems cuts emissions almost immediately. In states that still rely on coal or gas, emissions do not fall right away, but they decline over time as utilities clean up the power grid.
Researchers studied nearly 800 large factories in three sectors: food and beverage, chemicals, and pulp and paper. These sectors alone are responsible for about 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. industry. Electrifying their heat systems could make a huge difference.
Electric Technology Is Ready and Can Be Affordable
One reason factories have been slow to electrify is complexity. Unlike buying an electric car, replacing industrial heat systems requires many technical choices. Managers must think about power supply, building layout, energy prices, and production schedules.
The new findings show that electrification can start in simple steps. The easiest step is “drop-in electrification.” This means swapping gas machines with electric ones that do the same job. These changes do not require a full factory redesign. More advanced options include energy efficiency upgrades and modern heat pumps that can reach higher temperatures. These systems use electricity more efficiently and reduce energy waste.
Cost is a major concern for manufacturers. In many cases, electric heat already costs about the same as gas heat. This is especially true for processes that need lower temperatures and for factories in places where gas prices are high. In some states, the cost gap between electricity and gas is small or even favors electricity.
Electric systems also have fewer moving parts. This can reduce maintenance costs and downtime. Over time, this can save money and improve reliability. Even when electrification raises energy costs, the impact on consumers is very small. For example, breweries use heat at many stages of production. Modeling shows that even if energy costs double, the price of a beer would rise by only about one cent.
From a public health view, the benefits are large. Burning gas creates air pollution that harms lungs and hearts. Reducing these emissions improves air quality, especially near industrial areas. Cleaner air means fewer health problems and lower healthcare costs.
Power Demand, Emissions Cuts, and the Grid Challenge
Electrifying factories requires more electricity. The analysis shows that switching the studied factories to electric heat would need an extra 158 to 301 terawatt-hours of power. That is equal to about 16 to 30 percent of the electricity currently used by industry in the U.S.
This new demand adds to other growing needs, such as electric vehicles, data centers, and electric heating in homes. To meet this demand without increasing pollution, more clean power must be built. Wind, solar, geothermal, and other carbon-free sources are essential.
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Where electricity is already clean, emissions savings are highest. States with hydropower, solar, or wind-heavy grids see the biggest and fastest drops in carbon pollution. In these places, electrification can deliver strong climate benefits right away.
In states with dirtier grids, switching to electricity can sometimes raise emissions at first. This happens if utilities rely on coal or gas to meet new demand. However, the electric equipment installed today will still operate for decades. As the grid improves, emissions drop without needing to replace the machines again.
At the highest level of electrification and efficiency, the total emissions reduction could reach about 1.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by mid-century. This is a major share of the reductions needed to slow global warming. The analysis also highlights the importance of grid upgrades. Utilities and governments need to build more transmission lines and speed up project approvals to bring clean electricity from where it is produced to where factories are located.
Policy tools can help factories switch faster. Investment tax credits, grants, and lower electricity rates can reduce upfront costs. Clean heat incentives can also make electric systems cheaper to run than fossil fuel systems. Electrifying industrial heat is not about changing what factories produce. It is about changing how they make heat. The machines already exist, the emissions cuts are large, and the impact on everyday prices is small.
