04/17/2023
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
According to a new study, industry could save 44 percent of its energy requirements with "standard available efficiency technologies" - without cutting production.
Waste land in the German industrial landscape: according to a new study, annual energy efficiency potential totaling 410 billion kWh could be tapped in industry without having to reinvent the wheel. This would be possible with energy efficiency technologies that are already "available as standard," and there would be no production cutbacks as a result. That's according to the German Business Initiative for Energy Efficiency (Deneff), which commissioned the study at the Institute for Energy Technology and Energy Management at Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences.
"These 410 terawatt hours are roughly equivalent in magnitude to the electricity production of eight large nuclear or coal-fired power plants plus the capacity of four of the six new LNG terminals," explains Professor Jörg Meyer. "The discussion about further lifetime extensions of nuclear power plants would be even more unnecessary if these potentials had been addressed at an early stage," said the study's co-author.
The potential savings correspond to about 44 percent of the industry's final energy demand - 940 billion kWh in 2021. Not yet included in the 410 billion kWh are "the great potentials from resource efficiency and circular economy."
Economical, but not "close to the market"
The study authors see the greatest opportunities overall in process heat, drive technology and space heating. But 60 percent of the energy efficiency potential - that is, about 248 billion kWh per year - would not even be considered. The reason is that these potentials are "economical, but not close to the market. By "close to the market," the university researchers mean measures that promise a very good return on investment but do not pay off within three years. "As a result, immense potential for climate-friendly economic growth, increased competitiveness and strategic supply security is likely to remain untapped to date," they conclude. They put the near-market savings potential at 162 billion kWh. "The unrealized economic savings potential" is thus 248 billion kWh.
The financial savings potential for industry is 25 billion euros a year, according to the calculations. The authors speak of a great opportunity to increase competitiveness. And: "The trend of decoupling growth and consumption of recent years could be significantly accelerated in this way," they say.
In order to increase the resilience of German industry and achieve the climate targets, industry must, where possible and economical, increase its energy productivity even more significantly than has been achieved so far, Deneff appeals to business leaders in Germany.
Of course, they also see politics as having a duty. Existing policies such as funding instruments and energy efficiency networks continue to be important and expandable, but "cannot fully address the large gap." "Accordingly, there is a great need for additional political control, especially via the planned Energy Efficiency Act," write the study authors.
They do not expect price signals alone to provide a decisive impetus. "If policymakers relied largely on price policies, energy prices would have to almost triple again compared with the expected 'new normal' for economic potential to be expected to be lifted by market forces alone."
The "Short Study on Energy Efficiency Measures in Industry" is available for download on the Deneff website.
Author: Manfred Fischer
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