Engineering Innovation Driving Industrial Decarbonisation and Energy Security

Home
Articles
Engineering Innovation Driving Industrial Decarbonisation and Energy Security

Engineering Innovation Driving Industrial Decarbonisation and Energy Security

Articles
Aug 30,25

Industries worldwide face the dual challenge of meeting soaring energy demand while cutting emissions. Engineering innovations such as carbon capture, electrification, smart grids, and hydrogen fuel are enabling sustainable growth, writes Satish Ingavale, MD, John Crane India.

Engineering Innovation Driving Industrial Decarbonisation and Energy Security

The combined pressures of ensuring energy security and reducing carbon emissions are transforming industries across the globe. Countries seek economic growth, cities are expanding, and populations are rising, driving record levels of energy demand. At the same time, many nations are setting targets around net zero. India, despite being a developing nation, has announced its intention to become net zero by 2070, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to environmental sustainability. This is not an easy task. Approximately 51% of the country's power comes from coal and gas-based power plants. Industrial emissions are another significant challenge. Too-rapid change in either sector risks destabilising industries, with ripple effects across the nation.

Balancing these competing needs calls for a pragmatic response that delivers a reliable supply of energy, whilst cautiously reducing the carbon footprint. This is not just a matter of changing the source of fuel; it is about reframing how energy is generated, delivered, and consumed. Today, advances in engineering are opening new pathways to achieve this balance, making it possible to meet growing demand while lowering environmental impact.

CCUS: Delivering energy security and lowering carbon emissions

Since neither the power sector nor heavy industries can switch to cleaner fuels overnight, solutions that allow continued use of fossil fuels while reducing emissions are essential. Some industries face particularly significant barriers to exiting fossil fuels. Cement and steel are common examples, because both rely on complex chemical processes that electricity alone cannot yet replicate. Carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) has become an important tool for these industries.

Recent engineering developments have enabled the capture of significantly higher volumes of carbon dioxide before it escapes into the atmosphere. Consider factory chimneys fitted with advanced filters, engineered to capture CO2 molecules more efficiently and with lower energy requirements. Why is this important? Because any capture system does require energy, and if the energy comes from fossil-fuels, the system may reduce emissions but limit overall environmental benefits.

While capturing carbon is an important first step, it is the follow-on activity after capture that determines the efficacy of CCUS. Some sectors are recognising that they do not need to look at CO? as waste, but rather, as a feedstock for valuable products. For example, captured CO? can be used to produce synthetic fuels as substitutes for conventional petrol and diesel. CO? can also be used as a raw material in the production of plastics and low-carbon building materials that sequester carbon for decades. This not only reduces emissions but also opens up new economic opportunities.

Long-term underground storage is a critical solution for carbon that cannot be reused. Geological formations, including deep saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas reservoirs, can safely contain millions of tonnes of CO?. As this technology grows and develops, it will become a key tool to help close today's emissions gap as cleaner energy sources gain traction across industries.

Electricity and smarter processes powering the industrial shift

As industries gradually move away from burning fossil fuels, the shift towards electricity wherever possible becomes a critical part of the transition. The increasing availability of renewable energy sources makes this change more feasible, allowing emissions to be cut directly at the point of use while maintaining steady production.

Transitioning to electricity, however, requires equipment designed to operate efficiently under new conditions. Electric boilers and induction heaters have advanced significantly, often matching or exceeding the performance of traditional fossil-fuel-based machinery. Variable-speed drives provide precise control over motors and pumps, enhancing overall operational efficiency. Perhaps most importantly, many of these technologies can be introduced incrementally into existing plants, allowing companies to adapt without the disruption of a complete overhaul.

Alongside these hardware improvements, digital technology is reshaping how industries manage their processes. Sensors distributed throughout facilities continuously track parameters like temperature, pressure, and the health of equipment. This real-time data feeds into digital twins, highly sophisticated virtual replicas of the plant that simulate operations and predict potential problems before they arise. These insights empower operators to optimise processes in real time, reducing fuel consumption and waste while minimising the risk of unexpected breakdowns. Modern maintenance strategies have evolved from reactive responses to planned, predictive actions, significantly cutting costly downtime. These technological advances are enabling a cleaner, more efficient industrial landscape, supporting the gradual transition towards low-carbon energy use without compromising productivity.

Smart grids and battery technology powering reliable renewables

Electrification, especially when powered by renewable energy, is a crucial part of reducing emissions. However, solar and wind power can be unpredictable, creating challenges for industries that rely on a constant, reliable supply of electricity. Modern energy storage systems offer an essential solution to this problem. Advances in lithium-ion batteries have made it possible to store excess energy generated during periods of strong sunlight or wind. This stored energy can then be used when renewable output drops, helping to maintain a steady power supply. Emerging technologies such as solid-state and flow batteries promise even longer storage durations, improved safety, and greater reliability.

Alongside energy storage, smart grids are becoming increasingly important. These advanced networks use real-time data, automation, and artificial intelligence to dynamically balance electricity supply and demand. They can forecast outages, adjust loads swiftly, and encourage consumers to shift their energy usage to off-peak hours.

Together, energy storage and smart grid technologies reduce the need for fossil-fuel backup plants, increasing grid stability and supporting higher integration of renewable energy. This gives industries the confidence to rely more heavily on clean power without risking operational disruptions, representing a critical step in the transition towards a low-carbon future.

Hydrogen: A promising low-carbon fuel for difficult sectors

While electrification and energy storage are making steady progress, some industries still face significant challenges in cutting emissions today. In these cases, hydrogen offers a promising option for the future. It carries a high energy density and produces no carbon emissions when used, making it well suited to sectors where electrification remains difficult.

Handling hydrogen safely is complex. Its small molecules can escape easily, and it is highly flammable. Transporting and storing hydrogen requires materials and seals built to withstand high pressures, temperature changes, and demanding industrial conditions. Recent engineering advances have developed durable polymers and specialised metal alloys that meet the hydrogen containment requirements. These materials help reduce leakage risks and improve safety throughout production, storage, and transport.

Although hydrogen is not yet widely in use, solving these challenges is key to unlocking its potential. Coupled with electrification and carbon capture, hydrogen can offer a practical, low-carbon fuel for heavy transport, steelmaking, and other industries that are hard to decarbonise today.

Way forward

Engineering solutions are creating new ways for industries to meet growing energy demand while reducing emissions, but these advances reach their full potential only when supported by clear policies and stable regulations that encourage investment and provide confidence for large-scale adoption. Such frameworks allow new solutions to be implemented steadily without disrupting industrial operations, while offering the guidance industries need to plan for the future.

This progress is further strengthened through collaboration among governments, industry leaders, researchers, and technology providers, where shared knowledge and coordinated efforts ensure that innovations move from concepts to practical tools that industries can rely on. These partnerships allow risks to be managed collectively, making the adoption of technologies both efficient and reliable. At the centre of this transformation are the people operating these systems, whose technical skills, digital understanding, and awareness of safety standards are essential for smooth and efficient performance. Continuous learning and adaptability allow them to integrate technologies such as carbon capture, hydrogen, electrification, and smart grids seamlessly, ensuring that industrial processes remain productive while emissions are steadily reduced.

When innovation, supportive policies, collaborative action, and a skilled workforce work in harmony, industries can achieve the delicate balance of meeting growing energy needs while lowering emissions. This integrated approach lays the foundation for a future where energy remains reliable and affordable, industrial growth continues unhindered, and environmental sustainability is achieved without compromise.

About the author:

Satish Ingavale is the Managing Director of John Crane India, a global leader in engineered technologies for the energy and process industries. He has over two decades of leadership experience.