According to a recent LinkedIn post from Electrified Thermal Solutions, a new McKinsey & Company analysis points to a strong economic case for electrifying industrial heat via thermal energy storage in Europe. The post highlights projections of returns above 15% across most major European markets by 2030, with Spain approaching 20%.
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The LinkedIn post notes that in several European markets, day-ahead electricity prices are already below the cost of gas, including CO₂ costs, 15 to 40% of the time. It suggests that thermal storage technologies can arbitrage this spread by charging with low-cost electricity while delivering heat on demand.
According to the post’s summary of the McKinsey analysis, European thermal storage capacity could expand from under 0.5 GWh today to more than 200 GWh by 2035, implying a deployment opportunity of about €16 billion this decade. The company’s Joule Hive™ system is positioned in the post as targeting this emerging market for storing renewable electricity and supplying industrial-grade heat at costs intended to compete with natural gas.
For investors, the referenced projections, if realized, would imply a rapidly scaling addressable market for industrial heat electrification and associated technologies. The post underscores a potential shift from long-term decarbonization goals to nearer-term commercial deployment, which could support growth expectations for companies active in thermal energy storage and industrial decarbonization solutions.
The emphasis on relative economics versus natural gas and reduced exposure to fuel price volatility may be particularly relevant for assessing competitiveness and margin potential in energy-intensive industries. If industrial customers adopt such solutions at scale, companies like Electrified Thermal Solutions that are positioned in this niche could benefit from both capital deployment cycles and recurring revenue opportunities tied to decarbonization and energy transition trends.