Industrial electricity price: what the 50 per cent condition means for operators

The 50 per cent condition attached to the industrial electricity price is usually quoted in abbreviated form. Anyone who reads the exact wording will find the furnace in it.

What the rule requires

The German industrial electricity price has applied since January 2026: around 5 cents per kilowatt hour for up to half of consumption, limited until 2028. A condition is attached to it — at least 50 per cent of the subsidy amount has to be reinvested in decarbonisation measures, implemented in Germany, within 48 months. Among the measures recognised are energy efficiency measures affecting electricity demand as well as the use of industrial waste heat.

What this means for the furnace lining

• Electrically heated furnaces: here a better lining directly reduces electricity demand. Old fireclay runs at a shell temperature of 80–120 °C, a layered fibre construction at 45–60 °C — depending on the initial condition, 10 to 20 per cent less energy input.
• Gas-fired furnaces: the same measure reduces gas consumption. Commercially sensible, but not automatically eligible under this directive.
• Planned conversions: anyone examining electrification should plan the heating system and the lining together. Considered separately, it costs two shutdowns.
• Waste heat: the shell temperature is the most easily measurable source of loss — thermography before and after the measure, documented rather than estimated.