One of the major advantages of the e-UltraHeater is that it can be connected directly to the high-voltage grid. This means that large amounts of green electricity can be converted into heat at various temperature levels and at very high power. There is no need for a large and costly transformer—even though the system can deliver temperatures above 3,000 °C.

The e-UltraHeater can be integrated directly into existing industrial processes—for example, as a replacement for gas burners in steam boilers. At the same time, the electric solution is more efficient than fossil alternatives, as no flue gases are produced in which heat energy is lost.

Cheap electricity at night

Another advantage of the e-UltraHeater is its ability to exploit periods of low electricity prices.

Imagine a company that needs 500 °C for its production. Instead of using expensive electricity during the daytime, the company can use typically cheaper night-time electricity to charge a thermal storage system - for example, stones in a well-insulated tank - to around 700 °C.

During the day, heat is drawn from the storage until the temperature drops to 500 °C. The system is then ready to be recharged again the following night.
Naturally, the size of the thermal storage is tailored to the company’s daily consumption.

Salt as energy storage

Another way the e-UltraHeater can store energy is by exploiting a material’s ability to change phase—for example, from solid to liquid. A familiar everyday example is ice in a drink: as long as there is ice left, the drink does not get warmer than 0 °C. Only once all the ice has melted can the temperature rise.

In the same way, salt—which melts at around 700 °C—can be used. As long as there is still some liquid salt present, the thermal storage can deliver a stable, high temperature.

The advantage of salt is that it is cheap, abundant, and capable of storing a large amount of energy in a very small volume - far more efficiently than water.

From heat to power

If electricity is needed around the clock, this can of course be handled with batteries.

But here the e-UltraHeater opens up another low-hanging fruit. If the thermal storage becomes hot enough - and it can with the e-UltraHeater - the system can produce high-pressure steam, which can in turn be used to generate electricity.

At the same time, system operators - such as Energinet in Denmark - reward large electricity consumers that can rapidly ramp their consumption up and down and provide capacity when the power grid needs it.

Because the e-UltraHeater can be switched on, switched off, and regulated very quickly, it is particularly well suited for this type of flexibility.
This can make a significant contribution to annual operating economics.

Enormous potential

The need for green industrial process heat is enormous worldwide. Today, only 3% of industrial process heat in the EU is supplied by electricity, while 77% is still generated from fossil fuels (source: de Boer).

Globally, industrial process heat is estimated to have emitted around 7 billion tonnes of CO₂ in 2025 - roughly equivalent to the combined annual CO₂ emissions of the United States and India that same year (source: Global Carbon Project).

With e-UltraHeater, a very large share of the CO₂ emissions from global industrial process heat can be decarbonised.

Ready for scaling

The e-UltraHeater was invented by Flemming Buus Bendixen and Mogens Juhl Føns from the Danish company Føns Transformers. Together with Aalborg University, they are working to mature the technology and scale it up. The work is financially supported with a total of a double-digit million DKK amount by EUDP and Energy Cluster Denmark.

“We are ready to go into production as soon as testing of our demo models is completed. Of course, we would like to earn some money from the idea - but the most important thing is that the technology gets out into real-world use. Each new installation is a major and tangible contribution to the fight against climate change,” say Flemming Buus Bendixen and Mogens Juhl Føns.