IEA reports industrial energy efficiency analysis

July 2, 2007
Changes to manufacturing technology worldwide could cut energy use 18-26% and also reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the International Energy Agency said in a report released June 25 in Paris.

Changes to manufacturing technology worldwide could cut energy use 18-26% and also reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the International Energy Agency said in a report released June 25 in Paris.

IEA Director Claude Mandil said, “Manufacturing industries in [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] countries have made great progress in energy efficiency during the last 25 years, but important opportunities to reduce emissions remain.” His comments came as he released a report entitled “Tracking Industry Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emissions.”

In 2005, the Group of Eight (G8) leaders asked IEA to provide advice on a clean, competitive energy future. The report analyzed industrial energy efficiency.

The report said the manufacturing industry accounts for 36% of world CO2 emissions. CO2 is a greenhouse gas blamed for contributing to global warming.

IEA analysts used 27 gigatonnes/year of CO2 emissions as a reference for their calculations. That was based upon 2004 statistics. They said industrial CO2 emissions reduction potential amounts to 1.9-3.2 gigatonnes/year.

Among other industries, IEA studied chemicals and petrochemicals, iron and steel, cement, aluminum, pulp and paper.

The chemical and petrochemical industry accounts for 30% of global industrial energy use and 16% of CO2 emissions, the report said.

Benchmarking studies suggest potential energy efficiency improvements for olefins and aromatics range from 10% for polyvinyl chloride to 40% for various types of polypropylene, IEA said.

The report said manufacturing in general could be made more energy-efficient by upgrading factory engines, including adjustable speed drives, steam systems, and combined heat and power, and also by recycling materials.

IEA noted that energy efficiencies differ widely between countries. China accounted for 80% of the growth in industrial production and CO2 emissions during the past 25 years, the agency said. Mandil said improving industrial energy efficiency can help developing countries’ economic growth while contributing to reduced greenhouse-gas emissions.

“The potential is so large that more efforts are warranted, in order to achieve deep CO2 emission reductions, reduce fossil fuel dependence, and increase industrial competitiveness,” Mandil said. The report concluded that more work needs to be done to improve the quality of the data and to refine the analysis, he said.