Transformative Pathways for U.S. Industry:
Unlocking American Innovation
US DOE report with contributions from Global Efficiency Intelligence (Ali Hasanbeigi and Cecilia Springer)
The U.S. DOE has just released a transformative pathways report for decarbonizing the U.S. industry. This significant publication highlights key strategies for reducing emissions and advancing industrial decarbonization nationwide.
The Global Efficiency Intelligence team (Ali Hasanbeigi and Cecilia Springer) is thrilled to have contributed to this impactful report. Working with the U.S. DOE’s IEDO, national labs, and other organizations involved in this study was a great pleasure.
The GEI team led the development of roadmap models for the steel and cement industries, which formed the basis for the results presented in this DOE Pathways report. Our team also led the writing of the initial drafts of the steel and cement roadmaps. Additionally, the GEI team contributed to developing roadmap models for the pulp and paper, food and beverage, and chemical sectors. Furthermore, GEI contributed to this study's industrial electrification and other cross-cutting working groups.
This study outlines a comprehensive vision for decarbonizing the industrial sector while promoting innovation, economic growth, and national security. As the industrial sector accounts for approximately 38% of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, this report underscores the need for transformative action to bend the curve of rising emissions while maintaining global competitiveness.
The report examines decarbonization strategies across six critical industrial subsectors: cement and concrete, chemicals, food and beverage, iron and steel, petroleum refining, and pulp and paper. These industries are essential to the U.S. economy, accounting for substantial value-added, employment, and infrastructure. However, their significant energy use and emissions pose challenges that require immediate attention.
To address these challenges, the report builds on the DOE’s 2022 Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap (to which GEI team also contributed) and introduces a framework of four primary pillars for industrial transformation:
Energy Efficiency: Technological advancements to minimize energy demand and directly reduce emissions from fossil fuel combustion.
Industrial Electrification: Adoption of electricity-based energy solutions, leveraging the transition to low-carbon electricity from both grid and onsite sources.
Low-Carbon Fuels and Feedstocks: Substitution of fossil-based inputs with renewable alternatives to reduce emissions from combustion and processes.
Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS): Deployment of CO₂ capture technologies to mitigate hard-to-abate emissions and long-term storage to avoid atmospheric release.
Key Findings by Subsector
Cement and Concrete: Emissions from this subsector are driven by energy use and process emissions. The report identifies strategies such as fuel switching (from coal to biomass and natural gas), increased adoption of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), and the implementation of carbon capture technologies to achieve near-zero emissions by 2050.
Chemicals: This diverse subsector produces over 70,000 products and accounts for a significant share of industrial emissions. The report emphasizes demand reduction through recycling and material efficiency, technology transitions like electrified and bio-based chemical processes, and the integration of other low-carbon technologies.
Food and Beverage: Focused on manufacturing, the report identifies opportunities for electrifying heating processes (e.g., steam and hot air), process integration, and energy efficiency improvements in refrigeration, drying, and facility HVAC systems.
Iron and Steel: As a critical material for infrastructure and manufacturing, decarbonizing this subsector involves transitioning from blast furnaces to hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (H2-DRI) processes, integrating CCUS technologies, and increasing the use of electric arc furnaces (EAFs).
Petroleum Refining: With the largest refining capacity in the world, decarbonization in this subsector includes demand reduction (via declining transportation fuel use), energy-efficient technologies (e.g., advanced heat exchangers and waste heat recovery), low-carbon utilities, and expanded biofuel production.
Pulp and Paper: This subsector’s decarbonization focuses on improving energy efficiency in key processes, electrifying auxiliary boilers, adopting biomass-based fuels, and utilizing carbon capture for remaining emissions.
The report introduces data-driven decision-making frameworks that provide a roadmap for transformative pathways over time. These frameworks account for the long lifetimes of industrial facilities and emphasize the need for parallel investments across technologies to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. The DOE also draws from its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports, which highlight commercialization strategies for near-term technologies and ensure stakeholder engagement.
The Transformative Pathways for U.S. Industry report offers a detailed blueprint for decarbonizing the U.S. industrial sector. By leveraging energy efficiency, electrification, low-carbon fuels, and CCUS, the U.S. can achieve ambitious climate goals while enhancing economic competitiveness, creating stable jobs, and ensuring environmental sustainability. This report provides a valuable resource for policymakers, industries, and stakeholders aiming to achieve net-zero emissions in one of the most challenging sectors of the economy.
To read the full report and see the complete results and analysis of this study, Download the full report from the link above.
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