BOILERS, PUMPS & VALVES W
hether generating steam, hot water, or thermal fluids, industrial heating systems are central to production activity, but also a significant source of
carbon emissions. Decarbonising these systems presents
both a challenge and an opportunity. The technology landscape is expanding rapidly, offering everything from electric boilers and heat pumps to hydrogen-ready systems, thermal fluid heating and advanced energy monitoring. Yet with so many options, and no single solution that fits every site, many operators are asking a fundamental question: where to begin? The answer increasingly lies in a flexible,
long-term approach that combines multiple solutions, tailored to each facility’s technical, financial and operational realities.
A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE OF TECHNOLOGIES For decades, natural gas has been the dominant fuel in industrial heating, valued for its affordability, availability and ease of use. But its role is now being re-evaluated in light of decarbonisation goals and evolving energy policy. Many sites are exploring how to diversify or transition away from gas, though this transition must be managed carefully to avoid jeopardising productivity or economic viability. In practice, this often means adopting a
combination of technologies, rather than a wholesale switch to one alternative. Some businesses are introducing electric boilers to support variable loads for both direct and indirect heating, while retaining high- efficiency gas systems for baseload. At Babcock Wanson, we have been monitoring this shift closely and have developed a full range of energy-efficient low and high voltage electric boilers that provide precise temperature control. Sales of electric boilers are predicted
to rise following the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy, a 10-year plan to boost business investment across eight growth-driving sectors, including clean energy, decarbonisation technologies and advanced manufacturing. This will see a new Connections Accelerator Service to help fast- track grid connections for major projects and a British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs for energy- intensive and foundational industries; two of the main stumbling blocks in achieving electrification. In the meantime, hybrid solutions that
allow customers to use the best available energy source at any given time could be the way forward. Hybrid Condor boilers from Babcock Wanson Group company VKK Standardkessel, for example, incorporate flanged electric heaters alongside traditional combustion to reduce CO emissions, operate flexibly according to fuel pricing and provide additional standby capacity. Another Babcock Wanson Group company Standard Fasel also offers electric boilers that can be connected onto existing Firetube boilers to
DECARBONISING INDUSTRIAL HEATING: WHY FLEXIBILITY AND A MULTI-SOLUTION APPROACH ARE KEY
By Etienne Fourie, Technical Sales Manager, Babcock Wanson UK’s Process Engineering Division
As the UK industry works toward meeting ambitious Net-Zero targets, many businesses are turning their attention to one of the most emissions-intensive areas of their operations: process heating
offer a hybrid solution. Other options include adopting thermal
fluid systems for tighter process control and reduced energy losses. Electric thermal oxidisers are also a good way to not only deal with site effluent and VOCs, but also carbon emissions. A circular economy is another way to
reduce the carbon footprint through solvent recovery plants and enhanced water treatment equipment to reduce the site water consumption and blowdown losses. Where long-term plans include hydrogen,
especially in hard-to-electrify applications, operators are future-proofing by specifying compatible equipment today, even if hydrogen is not yet available on site. The UK Government aims to produce 10GW of clean hydrogen by 2030 and scale this to between 250–460 TWh by 2050.
MAKE DO AND MEND! Crucially, many businesses are beginning
14 DECEMBER 2025/JANUARY 2026 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
with systems that optimise what they already have. Enhancements such as heat recovery, real-time monitoring and smart controls can significantly reduce energy use and emissions, often without major infrastructure changes. Certainly, waste heat recovery through the
use of flue gas and condensing economisers helps reduce a site’s carbon footprint as each kW of recovered heat is a kW not fired. Economisers are essentially heat exchange devices that extract the residual heat from the exhaust gas generated by the combustion process. That recovered heat is usually fed back into the process, typically to the boiler feed water thereby optimising the overall efficiency of the plant in the most compact and cost-effective manner. Different types of economisers are available
to meet a wide variety of processes and site needs. Our R-Eco solution, for example, is a combustion air preheater that recovers heat from the combustion fumes and uses a Flue
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