# Decarbonising industry: electrification, hydrogen, capture

> Cutting industrial emissions follows a logical order: efficiency, then electrification, then hydrogen and low-carbon molecules, and finally capture. A tour of the levers and the framework that pushes them.

- Source : https://industryhub.site/en/learn/energy/decarbonation-industrie
- Track : Energy & transition
- Level : Practitioner
- Reading time : 6 min
- Language : English

## Why industry is hard to decarbonise

Industry accounts for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions ([GHG](/en/glossary#term-ghg)). Part of it comes from the energy consumed; another, harder part comes from the process itself — calcining limestone for cement, for instance, releases CO₂ by chemistry, regardless of the fuel. Decarbonising industry is therefore not just about switching electricity supplier: it requires acting on several levels, in a precise order.

## Lever 1: efficiency, always first

You only decarbonise well what you have first made lean. [Energy efficiency](/en/learn/energy/efficacite-energetique) reduces the amount of energy to supply, and so the size — and cost — of every lever that follows. It is the cheapest, no-regret step: do it before investing in low-carbon production.

## Lever 2: electrifying the processes

Replacing a gas burner with electric equipment — high-temperature heat pump, electric furnace, electric boiler — eliminates direct emissions **provided the electricity is low-carbon**. It is the most mature lever for low and medium-temperature heat. Its brake: the cost of electricity against gas, and the power capacity to connect.

## Lever 3: hydrogen and low-carbon molecules

Where very high temperature or chemistry demands a molecule, hydrogen takes over. But it must be "low-carbon": produced by electrolysis with decarbonised electricity, not by steam reforming of natural gas. Count **~50–55 kWh of electricity per kg of H₂** by electrolysis — hence the need for abundant, decarbonised power. The [ISO 19880](/en/standards/iso-19880) standard frames its use. Hydrogen targets steel, chemicals, fertilisers — not diffuse heating, where electrification is more efficient.

## Lever 4: capturing CO₂ (CCUS)

For the irreducible process emissions — cement, lime — capture, use and storage of CO₂ ([CCUS](/en/glossary#term-ccus)) remain. You capture CO₂ at the stack, then sequester or valorise it. It is the most expensive and least mature lever; reserve it for what cannot be avoided otherwise.

## The framework that pushes: the price of carbon

This path is not just voluntary: it is economically forced. The European carbon market ([EU ETS](/en/glossary#term-eu-ets)) puts a price on every tonne emitted — around **€60 to €90/t CO₂** in recent years — and the carbon border adjustment mechanism ([CBAM](/en/glossary#term-cbam)) extends it to imports. Many companies also set targets aligned with climate science ([SBTi](/en/glossary#term-sbti)). Decarbonising thus becomes a competitiveness calculation as much as an environmental choice.

## Key takeaway

Decarbonising follows an order: efficiency first, then electrification with low-carbon power, then hydrogen for what cannot be electrified, and finally capture of residual CO₂. The price of carbon makes this path economically necessary.