What is electric resistance technology?

For organizations looking to decarbonize their processes, electric resistance technology’s efficiency, simplicity, and safety hold the answer.

Electrification of fossil fuel-powered processes is the only viable option for the industrial sector to decarbonize. By removing the complexity and cost of combustion-reliant energy sources, electrification can eliminate on-site Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions when powered by renewable energy.

Selecting the right electrification technology

But not all electrification technologies are equal. And some can even perpetuate existing challenges, removing any user benefits of electrification. For example, while electrification can reduce maintenance costs and downtime, using electrodes, with their water pumps and numerous moving parts, can lead to a significant maintenance burden.

Similarly, heat pumps—while far more efficient than fossil fuel burning systems—have complex and expensive system architectures. They also don’t operate well at lower temperatures and need additional workarounds for cold climates.

In this article, we'll explore the need for electrification and why electric resistance technology (ERT) is the only proven way to achieve greater energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and safety when replacing fossil fuel-powered processes.

Electrification is the key to carbon reduction

With increasing demands for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting and the push to achieve net-zero by 2050, sustainability plays an increasingly prominent role in every organization, particularly heavy industry.

In fact, heavy industry needs to achieve a 93% reduction in carbon emissions by 2025. This is a substantial reduction as it currently accounts for a third of energy use and a quarter of GHG emissions globally.

While it’s understandable that organizations want to keep the status quo to benefit from relatively cost-efficient fossil fuels, the pressure to transition to decarbonized technologies will render this a false economy in the long term.

From low to high-temperature heat applications, electrification can replace carbon fuels in almost any large-scale industry, including industrial processes such as washing, food preparation, drying, evaporation, distillation, and even steam reforming and cracking in petrochemicals.

There are several options to replace fossil fuel-powered processes, but only one comes close to achieving decarbonization effectively: ERT.

Electric resistance technology (ERT): the only true decarbonization tool

ERT is highly versatile, serving countless hot water and oil, steam, and hydrocarbon gas applications. But ERT’s biggest application today is replacing fossil fuel-based heating use cases, offering greater energy efficiency, control, and simplicity while needing far less maintenance.

In addition, ERT is very reliable. It has fewer components and no moving parts or water feeds. And being electrically isolated from water makes it far more cost-efficient, reliable, and safer than most other industrial process technologies.

ERT is useful for far more than just straight replacement applications. It’s increasingly common in cold-climate air-source heat pumps, where units can often struggle with efficiency and meeting required temperatures. ERT can be used to boost or pre-heat hydronic or air lines for heat pumps, bringing them in line with expected efficiency levels.

ERT is also used for heat tracing. For example, ERT can manage temperature across a network of pipes in a cold climate to ensure pipes flow freely and don’t freeze.

Replace fossil fuel-powered processes for good

If you’re at the point in your decarbonization journey where you’re considering which electrification technology to choose, now is a prime opportunity to assess your options and select a solution that’s right for your organization’s decarbonization needs.

To find out how ERT can support your decarbonization journey, download our latest white paper, Achieving decarbonization through electrification.

Discuss your strategies for decarbonization

And if you’d like to talk about how to make decarbonization a strategic priority in your organization, contact our team of solution experts who can offer tailored advice based on the latest industry best practices.