Industrial Electric Boilers

electrode · steam · flexibility

An electrode boiler can take tens of megawatts straight from a medium-voltage feeder and reach full load in minutes. That makes it as much a grid-flexibility asset as a steam source.

Range chart of unit sizes on a log scale: resistance element boilers from about 0.05 to 5 MW on low voltage; electrode boilers from about 3 to 70 MW at 6 to 25 kV; heat pump steam generators from about 0.3 to 10 MW with a coefficient of performance of 2 to 3. Below: element boilers deliver hot water and low-pressure steam; electrode boilers deliver medium-pressure steam with fast ramping; heat pumps deliver low-pressure steam with two to three times the heat per unit of electricity. UNIT SIZE BY BOILER TYPE (MW, LOG SCALE) Resistance elementlow voltage Electrode6-25 kV Heat pump steamCOP ~2-3 0.1 1 10 100 WHAT EACH ONE DELIVERS Element hot water, LP steam Electrode MP steam, fast ramp Heat pump LP steam, 2-3x heat
Efficiency
~99%
Electrode unit
Up to ~70 MW
Supply voltage
6-25 kV
Companies tracked
9, 1 Chinese
Hub
Industry

Finding

Electric boilers are the simplest way to electrify steam, and they pay off where power is cheap for many hours, which is why they spread first as grid-balancing loads

Element boilers heat water with immersed resistance elements; electrode boilers pass medium-voltage current through the water itself, so the water is the heater and units scale to tens of megawatts without a step-down transformer. Both convert about 99% of electricity to steam, against 80-85% for a gas boiler, and both can ramp from standby to full output within minutes.

Cost decides adoption. A ton of steam takes about 0.7 MWh, so at 8 cents/kWh the energy costs roughly $55 a ton, three to four times gas-fired steam at US prices. The plants that buy electric boilers run them on cheap or negative-price hours, keep a gas boiler as backup, and earn grid-balancing payments in between. Northern Europe proved the model: Danish, German and Nordic district heating and industrial sites use electrode boilers from Parat (Norway), Zander & Ingeström (Sweden) and Vapec to absorb surplus wind. China installed large electrode and thermal-storage boilers for northern heating under its coal-to-electricity program. In Texas, ERCOT's frequent low-price hours make the same design attractive.

Electric boilers top out around 350 °C saturated steam, enough for most food, pharmaceutical, pulp, chemical, battery and semiconductor plants. Above that, or for longer storage, the step is a thermal battery; for steam below about 200 °C, a steam-generating heat pump delivers two to three times as much heat per unit of electricity. US makers include Cleaver-Brooks, Precision Boilers and Chromalox; Acme Engineering (Canada) builds electrode units.

Types

Electric steam options compared

Electric boilers and alternatives
TypeHow it heatsSizeBest fit
Resistance element boilerImmersed resistive elementskW to ~5 MW, low voltageHot water, low-pressure steam, small plants
Electrode boilerCurrent through the water at 6-25 kV~3-70 MWLarge steam loads, grid balancing
Heat pump steam generatorCompressor lifts waste heat~0.3-10 MWLow-pressure steam with a waste-heat source
Thermal batteryResistive heat into bricks or carbonTens to thousands of MWhRound-the-clock steam from cheap hours

Constraints

What limits deployment

Electric boiler deployment constraints
ConstraintDetail
Energy priceUS power costs several times more than gas per unit of steam
Grid connectionMulti-MW units need substation capacity and medium-voltage switchgear
Water treatmentElectrode boilers need controlled water conductivity
EmissionsCO2 tracks the grid; below ~0.21 kg/kWh electric beats gas

Vendors

Electric boiler makers

Electrode boilers for multi-MW steam on medium-voltage feeds, and resistance-element boilers for smaller loads. Active companies first, then pilots, research groups and companies that exited.

Electrode boilers (medium voltage)
CompanyProductsHQTechnologyStatus
Acme EngineeringElectrode steam boilersCanadaJet-type electrode boilersactive
Parat HalvorsenHigh-voltage electrode boilers for steam and hot waterNorwayElectrode boilers at 6-25 kVactive
Precision BoilersElectrode steam and hot water boilersUSElectrode and resistance boilersactive
VapecHigh-voltage electrode boilersSwitzerlandElectrode boilersactive
Zander & IngestroemElectrode and resistance boilersSwedenElectrode boilersactive
Resistance-element boilers
CompanyProductsHQTechnologyStatus
ChromaloxElectric resistance steam and hot water boilers, process heatersUSImmersion resistance elementsactive
Cleaver-BrooksElectric steam and hot water boilers alongside gas boilersUSResistance elementsactive
FultonElectric steam boilersUSResistance elementsactive
Zhengzhou Boiler (ZBG)Electric boilers alongside coal, gas and biomass boilersChinaResistance elementsactive

Sources

Sources and scope

Scope
Industrial Electric Boilers
Sources
Parat, Zander & Ingeström, Cleaver-Brooks product data; EIA prices; steam tables; ElectronsX arithmetic
Updated
October 2026