For Industry
Industry represents 33% of the energy needs globally, with 60% of these energy needs applying to heat in the EU. In fact, heat plays such a crucial role in industry that industrial process heating emitted 7.5 metric gigatons of CO2 in 2016, which corresponds to 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions and to approximately the total emissions from the transport sector.
Decarbonising industrial heat will play a key role in achieving net-zero targets in Europe.
Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP): The way towards industry decarbonisation
Half of the global industrial heat needs relate to temperatures up to 400°C. This demand can be met by solar thermal, a ready-to-deploy technology able to provide heat from 30°C to 400°C. Already 1,209 Solar Heat for Industrial Processes (SHIP) systems are in operation for worldwide, with 116 new systems installed in 2023.
Key EU Fit x 55 files supporting the uptake of solar heat in industry
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
- Entered into force in January 2023
- Objective: investors and other stakeholders to have access to the information they need to assess the impact of companies on people and the environment and for investors to assess financial risks and opportunities arising from climate change and other sustainability issues
- In scope: large companies, listed SMEs, some non-EU companies
- Reporting will start with new rules gradually as from the 2024 financial year, for reports published in 2025
Emission Trading Scheme
- Covers greenhouse gas emissions from around 10,000 installations in the energy sector and manufacturing industry as well as aircraft operators and maritime transport
- Includes notably carbon dioxide (CO2) from electricity and heat generation, from energy-intensive industry sectors, including oil refineries, steel works, and production of iron, aluminium, metals, cement, lime, glass, ceramics, pulp, paper, cardboard, acids and bulk organic chemicals
Renewable Energy Directive (2023)
- 22a: new sub-sectoral targets for industry: average increase of 1.6 percentage points for the share of renewables in industry (for the periods 2021-2025 and 2026-2030)
Our policy demand:
Due to the huge share of heat needs in industry, it is crucial that the heating and cooling supply in the industrial sector gets decarbonised. This can be done through a mix of push and pull measures, combining individual mandates requiring a minimum level of heat demand covered by renewable heat with support measures facilitating project financing, for example Heat Purchase Agreements (HPAs), which shall be further enhanced.