This article explores the main strategies to reduce the carbon footprint in heavy industry, considering technical, economic, and environmental aspects.
The approaches described in the guide outline state policy options and current best practices that can help scale up industrial decarbonization
Using hydrogen as the heat source and the chemical reducing agent can eliminate CO₂ emissions, or carbon capture can remove them. Steel can also
Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is one of the only proven solutions available to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industries such as
Policies like the EU's Net Zero Industry Act, the 45Q tax credit in the U.S. and Denmark's CCUS Fund, as well as emerging regulation in Indonesia, are all helping to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS). Today CCUS captures around 0.1% of global emissions — around 50 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). CCUS is one of many ways to reduce emissions and plays a different role from carbon removal in long-term and net-zero climate plans developed by countries or companies. IPCC scenarios show a wide range of potential deployment of carbon capture technology: CCUS applied to fossil fuels reduces CO2 emissions by 0-5 GtCO2 by 2030 with a median of 1 GtCO2. Companies using or planning to use CCUS at their facilities should adhere to relevant regulatory frameworks; monitor and report the environmental impacts of the technology; engage with local communities; and commit to project agreements, including community benefits agreements.
Carbon dioxide emission rates throughout the life cycle of the cement production process with and without carbon dioxide capture Uncaptured 95% Captured Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg CO2e/kg cement) Raw Materials Electricity Calcination Reaction Fuel Supply Chain Fuel Combustion CO2 Transport and Storage energy.gov/fecm Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg CO2e/kg cement) Change in CO2 Emissions Uncaptured 95% Captured Raw Materials <0.01 <0.01 0.00% Fuel Supply Chain* 0.03 0.07 118.33% Electricity* 0.09 0.14 49.77% Fuel Combustion 0.31 0.03 -91.78% Calcination Reaction 0.55 0.03 -95.00% CO2 Transport and Storage 0 0.02 --TOTAL 0.98 0.28 -71.26% LOW-CARBON CEMENT AND SCOPE 3 EMISSIONS REPORTING U.S. companies are taking steps toward establishing and implementing strategies to meet their net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets.20 Emissions are often categorized into three bins (referred to as scopes 1, 2, and 3) based on guidance from the GHG Protocol and included as part of the Science-Based Targets Initiative.
We describe six general principles to guide the development of large-scale commercial CCS infrastructure to bridge the reduction gap by capitalizing on these
CCS projects typically target 90 percent efficiency, meaning that 90 percent of the carbon dioxide from the power plant will be captured and stored.