The Impact of Substituting Production Technologies on the Economic Demand Response Potential in Industrial Processes

Abstract

Given the low carbon transformation of our energy systems, demand response has the potential to increase the adaptability of electricity demand to a volatile electricity supply. In this article, we investigate the demand response potential for the case where substituting technologies are available in an energy-intensive industrial production process. The available production technologies may not only differ in their technical characteristics, but also vary by the necessary input materials. We present a generic linear optimization model for such a production process and apply it to a real-world example in the paper industry. The results show that the question of which substituting technologies are used in an optimal production schedule to which degree, is highly influenced by the combination of current input parameters such as prices. In direct consequence, the corresponding demand response potential is not a fixed number. From an operational perspective, this input dependency implies that the price relation of raw input materials used in substituting technologies can be a crucial driving force for the ability and willingness of industrial enterprises to provide demand response. In addition, from a strategic perspective, long-run investments in demand response potentials may rely on expected price development of major input factors.