The EEFIG Working Group on Energy Efficiency in Industry is taking stock of the energy-intensive industrial sector in order to identify and assess the obstacles, drivers and best practice for increasing the energy efficiency investments.
The potential to improve energy performance in industry is very high, but also complicated to realise due to the nature of investments in central manufacturing processes and utility systems, i.e. long planning horizons and often relatively long payback-periods. Furthermore, many energy-intensive industries are in global competition with regions that are less ambitious on the speed of decarbonisation.
The last two years have seen a change in the dialogue on energy efficiency in the European energy intensive industry from an operational optimisations opportunity to a strategic objective. Customers are rapidly adopting the green agenda and increasingly asking for low-carbon products and reporting of suppliers’ carbon footprint. There is also investor pressure, applied directly by institutional investors or as part of organised initiatives such as CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project). There is also a growing awareness that the overall green transition is an opportunity for revitalization of European industry and renewed competitiveness.
The Working Group meetings have shown that energy intensive industries are increasingly looking at Paris alignment and “deep decarbonisation” and that they are willing to undertake major changes in their production and improve their carbon footprint, through a combination of energy efficiency, renewables, electrifications, new products, circular business models, etc.
The Working Group discussions have also highlighted, that while industries are willing to go that way, they seek public private partnerships with the EC and national governments to ensure stable long-term policy frameworks, markets for new low carbon products, access infrastructure for renewable energy (electricity, hydrogen and biogas), grants supporting technology innovation, and a levelled playing field for products with international competitors.
The Working Group believes that such partnerships and mutual commitments between governments and industries can create a framework for deep decarbonisation combined with long-term improvement of competitiveness that can facilitate access to long-term commercial financing for green transition.
Detalii
- Data publicării
- 5 iulie 2021