Decarbonizing the energy system is not one project but many, and not all of them sit on the electric grid. Heat and fuels are a major part of energy use, and cutting their emissions means finding new roles for existing assets as well as building new ones. The work ranges from putting surplus electricity to use, to capturing carbon where it is produced, to developing fuels that could eventually displace those burned today.

The articles in this edition of Critical Insights look at several of these paths. We begin with how district energy systems can turn surplus grid power into heat using large heat pumps, electric boilers, and thermal storage. Next is a look at why power sector carbon capture projects stall, where site integration, financing, and risk allocation matter as much as the capture technology itself. We then examine how developers are pairing packaged boilers with steam turbines to bring power to AI data centers faster, given long gas turbine lead times, and how ammonia-to-hydrogen technology is advancing. We close with an EPRI perspective on the value emerging fuels and technologies can offer beyond emissions reductions, including resilience and energy security.

Decarbonizing district steam has to make economic sense under real market conditions. Across the U.S., low natural gas prices, varying electricity tariffs, and fragmented incentives can complicate the business case. Everllence large-scale heat pumps can upgrade renewable and recovered heat to produce steam for existing district energy networks, reducing reliance on fossil-fueled generation without requiring a complete rebuild of the distribution infrastructure.