About the Guest(s) Nis Benn is the co-founder of Hyme Energy, a Copenhagen-based company pioneering solutions to decarbonise industrial heat at scale. With a background spanning sociology, consulting, political organising, and deep-tech startups, Nis has consistently chased high-leverage, system-level climate solutions — from nuclear innovation to Hyme’s molten-salt heat storage. Episode Summary In this episode of Shape the System, host Vincent Turner speaks with Nis Benn of Hyme Energy about one of the world’s biggest yet overlooked climate challenges: industrial heat. While most clean-energy discussions focus on electricity, heat accounts for roughly a third of global emissions — largely produced by directly burning coal, oil, or gas for steam and high-temperature processes. Nis traces his path from climate-centred politics and nuclear R&D to Hyme, where the team is commercialising molten-salt thermal storage. Hyme uses renewable electricity to heat a specialised hydroxide salt to ~520°C, storing energy as heat and dispatching it as steam — the medium many factories already use. That retrofit-friendly approach lets manufacturers decarbonise without ripping out existing systems. Beyond emissions, the economics matter: industry spends trillions annually on fossil energy for heat. Hyme’s model pairs lower, more predictable energy costs with reliability and innovative commercial structures (e.g., heat offtake agreements in partnership with asset managers), allowing customers to “buy heat” as a service. On the engineering front, Hyme’s corrosion breakthroughs enable long lifetimes using standard stainless steels in most of the system — a key step to bankability and scale. Hyme is targeting first commercial plants from 2026 and meaningful scale by 2030. Key Takeaways Industrial heat is massive: About one-third of global emissions come from process heat, much of it from direct fossil combustion. Store power as heat: Hyme heats molten hydroxide salts with renewables, then delivers on-demand steam for existing processes. Minimal retrofit: Because many factories already run on steam, Hyme can slot in with limited disruption. Compelling economics: Rising energy and CO₂ costs + access to cheap renewables = strong business cases and multi-market optimisation. Path to scale: First FID-ready projects in 2026, scaling via partnerships/licensing toward hundreds of plants through the 2030s. Notable Quotes “Around 30% of global emissions come from industrial heat — it’s the single biggest emissions sector.” — Nis Benn “If you already use steam, Hyme can just produce it another way.” — Nis Benn “Reliability is what industrial players care about most — our job is to deliver that with renewables.” — Nis Benn “You can ‘buy heat’ as an outcome — not worry about the kit behind it.” — Vincent Turner Resources Hyme Energy: https://hyme.energy Background reading on industrial heat, thermal storage, and energy markets