Electrify Everything You Can, Do The Rest Later: The Electrification Staircase | Ep256

Why It Matters

The framework gives decision‑makers a clear, data‑backed hierarchy, accelerating decarbonization and preventing resources from being wasted on speculative technologies.

Key Takeaways

• Prioritize electrifying low‑hang sectors (A‑C) for fastest emission cuts
• Make heat pumps mandatory in new residential builds to accelerate adoption
• Deploy electric glass furnaces and induction steel heating for immediate efficiency gains
• Use the staircase framework to separate feasible projects from speculative ones
• Counter hydrogen hype with data‑driven narratives emphasizing proven electrification pathways

Summary

The episode introduces the Electrification Staircase, a six‑row framework developed by the Electrification Alliance to map which energy‑using applications can be switched to electricity now versus later. Host Michael Liebreich and co‑authors explain that the tool helps policymakers and investors cut through competing narratives about heat pumps, electric vehicles, and hydrogen.

Rows A‑C represent technologies already commercial in most markets—home heat pumps, low‑temperature industrial processes, and road transport. These “no‑brainer” solutions are cost‑competitive, mature, and deliver immediate emissions reductions. Rows D‑F cover higher‑temperature processes such as glass melting, steel reheating, and river transport, which are technically feasible but require further scaling and supportive regulation.

The panel cites concrete examples: heat pumps in new‑build housing cut heating bills by up to 50 %; electric glass furnaces can halve energy use compared with gas‑fired kilns; induction heating in steel plants improves productivity and worker safety. They also warn that the “hydrogen ladder” narrative distracts from these proven pathways.

By focusing investment on rows A‑C while preparing for D‑F, governments can achieve the bulk of transport and industrial emissions cuts quickly, creating a credible roadmap for the energy transition. The staircase thus serves as a strategic guide to allocate subsidies, standards, and grid upgrades where they will have the greatest near‑term impact.

Original Description

Every single scenario for the future that looks at a cleaner energy system has electrification growing to 60, 70, 80% or more, and yet we don't make rapid progress. Why?

One of the reasons we don't make progress lies in narratives and culture wars. We hear about heat pumps that don't work, we hear about electric vehicles that don't work, we hear that electrification can't work for high temperature heat and so on, and then we hear a narrative that there is a false solution that will work much better: hydrogen. So how do we electrify things faster? By focussing on what we can do right now, commercially at scale, and removing the barriers that slow those sectors down.

Presenting the Electrification Staircase, a tool that breaks down the “Electrify Everything” argument into what can be achieved now, what will be in the near future, and what needs more support to come into being by the middle of the century.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael is joined by the authors of the Electrification Staircase to explore their thinking behind it, how it can be used, and what can be done to get electrification moving even faster.

The authors are Adrian Hiel, Director of the Electrification Alliance, Silvia Madeddu, Solutions Architect at Schneider Electric, William Drake, analyst at Liebreich Associates and Thomas Butler, associate at the Regulatory Assistance Project, as well as Michael Liebreich.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links:

The Electrification Staircase: https://electrification-alliance.eu/articles/the-electrification-staircase-is-out/

The Electrification Staircase Appendix: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qfn6xR7g7dXSZTlfkxcpOa8Pp0WKj7BW/view?usp=sharing

The Electrification Alliance: https://electrification-alliance.eu/

Regulatory Assistance Project: https://www.raponline.org/

Sylvia Madeddu’s Past appearance on Cleaning Up: https://perspectives.se.com/youtube-sustainability-business-schneider-electric/ep103-dr-silvia-madeddu-industrial-heat-is-electrifying

Chapters:

00:00 - Coming Up

00:45 - Introduction

04:20 - What is the Electrification Staircase

07:45 - Heat & Industry - What’s Possible?

16:18 - Road Transport

21:30 - Trains

25:50 - Heavy Industry - What’s Hard?

30:00 - Pilot Projects

35:00 - Improving Flexibility

37:45 - Hydrogen

39:40 - Future Tech

42:00 - Using The Staircase

47:00 - Easy Stuff First

52:00 - Outro