Analysis of Power-to-Heat Systems for decarbonizing a lubricant plant

The decarbonization of the industrial sector is currently one of the top priorities to meet environmental sustainability targets and to mitigate the impacts of climate change. This master thesis investigates the integration of a Power-to-Heat solution in an industrial context to reduce fossil fuel dependence for heat production. Specifically, the study focuses on the implementation of an electric boiler combined with a thermal energy storage system in the heating circuit of TotalEnergies lubricant blending plant in Madrid, Spain. The proposed system is designed to operate flexibly, leveraging lower electricity prices during off-peak hours to enhance economic efficiency. The analysis, conducted in collaboration with NewHeat as part of the European INDHEAP project, models the plant’s thermal demand and electricity price fluctuations to define an optimal sizing and operational strategy. The results show that in this case study a fully electric system is not economically favorable compared to a hybrid configuration with the gas boiler. Instead, introducing an electric boiler coupled with TES significantly reduces operational costs by mitigating peak demand. The electric boiler proves to be valuable not only when dedicated to charging the TES, but also when directly covering part of the thermal load with its operation determined by a price threshold. However, the analysis takes into account the real operational constraints of the industrial site including space availability, existing infrastructure and production schedules. These factors limit the scale and scheduling flexibility of the system; for instance, the ability to charge the TES during production hours may be restricted. Furthermore, in future scenarios where electricity prices decrease further or are introduced dynamic pricing schemes, the economic viability of fully electric or expanded systems could improve significantly and be possible. The thesis also explores the broader context of European and Spanish decarbonization policies, Spanish electricity market dynamics and energy storage technologies, ultimately providing a practical case study of industrial decarbonization through Power-to-Heat and thermal storage integration.