U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2022

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1961393· OSTI ID:1961393

Cresko, Joe ^[1]; Rightor, Edward ^[2]; Carpenter, Alberta ^[3]; Peretti, Kathryn ^[1]; Elliott, Neal ^[2]; Nimbalkar, Sachin ^[4]; Morrow III, William R. ^[5]; Hasanbeigi, Ali ^[6]; Hedman, Bruce ^[7]; Supekar, Sarang ^[8]; McMillan, Colin ^[3]; Hoffmeister, Andrew ^[2]; Whitlock, Andrew ^[2]; Igogo, Tsisilile ^[3]; Walzberg, Julien ^[3]; D'Alessandro, Cheryl ^[3]; Anderson, Sharon ^[3]; Atnoorkar, Swaroop ^[3]; Upsani, Shubhankar ^[3]; King, Phyllis ^[9] ; Grgich, Jodi ^[9]; Ovard, Leslie ^[9]; Foist, Rachel ^[9]; Conner, Alison ^[9]; Meshek, Mike ^[3]; Hicks, Alfred ^[3]; Dollinger, Caroline ^[10]; Liddell, Heather ^[10]

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1. US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington DC (United States). Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
2. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Washington, DC (United States)
3. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
4. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
5. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
6. Global Efficiency Intelligence, LLC, St. Petersburg, FL (United States)
7. Entropy Research, LLC, Alexandria, VA (United States)
8. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
9. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
10. Energetics, Columbia, MD (United States)

The science is clear that significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions are needed to moderate the severe impacts of ongoing climate change. Bold action is needed, and the Biden Administration has set goals of 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. The U.S. Long-Term Strategy (LTS) presents multiple pathways to a net-zero economy by no later than 2050. Addressing environmental justice and energy equity will be integral to meeting these climate goals. The United States’ overall industrial decarbonization strategy will support the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which pledges that at least 40% of overall benefits from federal investments in climate and clean energy will be delivered to disadvantaged communities. The U.S. net-zero GHG 2050 goal, while ambitious, is achievable and will provide important benefits for all Americans in terms of public health, economic growth, reduced conflict from climate-related disasters, and quality of life. While this roadmap focuses on GHG emissions, other pollutant emissions will also need to be addressed as industry decarbonizes. Developing new technologies to reduce GHG emissions is an important opportunity to address other environmental issues and inequities. DOE is currently focusing on energy and environmental justice in complementary programs and initiatives. The U.S. industrial sector is considered a “difficult-to-decarbonize” sector of the energy economy, in part because of the diversity of energy inputs that feed into a heterogenous array of industrial processes and operations. In 2020, the industrial sector accounted for 33% of the nation’s primary energy use and 30% of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

• Research Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• OSTI ID: 1961393
• Report Number(s): DOE/EE-2635
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES