Electrification

Electrification is the replacement of direct fossil-fuel use with electricity in transport, heating, and industry. Its climate benefits depend on how electricity is generated and how efficiently it is used.

Electric motor: A machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical motion. Electric motors replace combustion engines in vehicles and many industrial machines.
Electric vehicle: A vehicle propelled partly or wholly by electric power. This broader category includes battery, hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles.
Power grid: An interconnected system that generates, transmits, and distributes electricity. Electrified transport, buildings, and industry increase demands on grid capacity.
Hydrogen economy: An energy system that uses hydrogen as a major carrier, fuel, or industrial feedstock. Hydrogen may serve uses that are difficult to electrify directly.
Heat pump: A device that transfers heat from a cooler place to a warmer one using electrical work. Heat pumps deliver more heat than the electrical energy they consume.
Electric heating: Heating produced by converting electricity into heat or moving heat electrically. Buildings can replace gas or oil furnaces with electric heating systems.
Renewable energy: Energy derived from sources replenished naturally on human timescales. Cleaner generation determines whether electrification cuts operational emissions.
Biofuel: Fuel produced from biological material rather than geological fossil deposits. Biofuels can replace liquid fossil fuels without converting every end use to electricity.
Battery electric vehicle: A road vehicle propelled by electric motors powered by rechargeable batteries. It is a direct transport application that replaces an onboard combustion engine.
Electric arc furnace: A furnace that melts material using electric arcs between electrodes and the charge. Steelmaking can use electricity instead of coal-fired blast-furnace processes.

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