Energy Transitions in the Food Sector: The Economic Viability of Low-carbon Technologies in the Swiss Dairy Industry

Abstract

Swiss dairy products are globally sought after but their production requires relatively large amounts of process heat, often generated from oil and gas. Low-carbon electricity- and biomass-based solutions exist but were often regarded as economically not viable in the past. Therefore, we evaluate the economic viability of low-carbon technologies for the Swiss dairy industry for scenarios of low and high fossil fuel prices in Europe, and its sensitivity to emission cost pathways. Results show a clear cost advantage of heat pumps and biomass boilers going forward, driven particularly by expected future gas prices.