- Smart grids provide the foundation for managing industrial energy flows more transparently and aligning consumption with availability and price signals.
- Power-to-heat technologies turn electricity into heat that can be used strategically in combination with thermal storage systems.
- Solutions like the ThermalBattery™ give companies flexibility, lower energy costs, and enable more active responses to grid signals.
- Heat-as-a-Service models offer a low-risk entry point into flexible heat supply and support the decarbonization of industrial processes.
The direction of travel is clear – now it’s about implementation. For industrial companies, the focus is shifting to smart grids, flexible heat solutions, and strategic energy storage. The question is no longer whether fossil systems can be replaced, but how quickly viable alternatives can take hold. To secure process heat in a reliable and climate-friendly way, companies need solutions that can be controlled flexibly and integrated into existing structures.
What smart grids mean for industry
The term “smart grid” has long been part of the public debate. In corporate practice, however, it often remains abstract – even though the framework conditions are already changing. Price signals fluctuate more sharply, load peaks occur more frequently, and supply security has become more complex.
Behind this lies a fundamental shift in generation structures. Wind and solar power are not continuously available, so the grid must respond differently than in the past, when generation could be planned with relative certainty. As weather-dependent feed-in increases, the role of consumers is evolving. Smart grids create the basis for linking consumption more closely to availability in the system. They show when electricity is being fed in and make it possible to control energy flows digitally.
For companies, this means that energy is no longer just purchased – it’s actively managed. Processes don’t need to be reinvented, but they are increasingly caught between price dynamics, availability, and regulatory requirements. To secure process heat economically, companies need systems that evolve in step with these changes – technologically and strategically.
New rules for a smarter energy system
With the introduction of smart grids, the requirements for planning energy use are rising. Companies with high heat demand feel this shift most directly. Unlike in the past, energy procurement can no longer be viewed in isolation from market signals.
Digital grid infrastructures give companies a clearer picture of when electricity is available, how prices are developing, and where bottlenecks are emerging. But transparency alone is not enough. Only technologies such as power-to-heat and thermal storage turn this information into actionable flexibility – by enabling energy use during low-price periods and storing heat for later use.
In sectors with large-scale heat processes, controllable systems open up a new level of control – not through ad-hoc reaction, but through proactive planning and long-term integration into energy management.
Power-to-heat as the strategic link between industry and smart grids
Power-to-heat is emerging as a practical lever for connecting industrial heat processes to intelligent power systems. The technology converts electricity into heat and can be integrated directly into existing operations.
Its full potential unfolds in combination with thermal storage. Storage systems decouple electricity consumption from heat use in time. Electricity can be drawn during low-price hours – for example, when renewable generation is high – and the resulting heat can be deployed when needed. This creates a buffer against price spikes and grid congestion.
Power-to-heat solutions thus make industrial consumers compatible with tomorrow’s electricity system while helping to cut costs and emissions – without requiring fundamental changes to proven process structures.
Targeted heat storage: the ThermalBattery™ in action
One practical example is the modular ThermalBattery™, used as a heat storage system in power-to-heat applications. It stores high-temperature heat generated from electricity and can be scaled to fit industrial requirements.
The technology is robust, adaptable, and digitally controlled. Integrated into a smart grid, the system reacts autonomously to grid signals, weather forecasts, or internal load profiles – without disrupting ongoing operations.
In combination with an intelligent grid, the ThermalBattery™ becomes an active instrument of flexibility. Companies gain greater control over their energy use and can respond strategically to volatile power markets. For businesses reshaping their energy supply, the system provides planning certainty – technologically, economically, and, increasingly, in regulatory terms.
Low-risk entry: heat as a service
Not every company wants to build or operate its own storage systems. Especially for mid-sized firms, technical capacity and long-term investment certainty are often limited.
An alternative is the Heat-as-a-Service model. Here, process heat is provided as a service – generated with grid electricity, stored in thermal systems, and monitored by the provider. The company receives predictable, flexible heat without bearing infrastructure or operating costs.
These models enable an economically viable entry into flexible heat supply and contribute to decarbonization – independent of investment cycles or in-house technical expertise.
Industry and grid are growing together
The energy transition is changing not only how energy is produced but also how it is used. Smart grids are more than a technological upgrade – they mark a systemic shift that brings consumption and grid operation closer together.
For industrial companies, this opens tangible opportunities. Those who integrate flexible technologies early or adopt heat-as-a-service models strengthen their energy security and make use of the new room for manoeuvre within tomorrow’s power system.
This is not about short-term adjustments, but structural responses to emerging realities. Smart grids will form the backbone of an interconnected energy system – and companies that adapt now will gain a clear advantage in a market evolving faster than ever before.
