Industry is trying to clean up its act

IEC Tech

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Global industrial emissions will need to fall by 25% by 2030 for the world to be on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 – an aspirational target of many of the world’s largest economies. Industry on a global scale is trying to move to less carbon intensive practices but the scale and complexity of the challenge is huge. In the industrial sector, US energy consumption is forecast to increase up to 32% between now and 2050, according to the US government, regardless of attempts to generate more power with renewables.

Industry has accounted for over 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, according to the World Economic Forum. It is the single largest emitting sector when accounting for its electricity use and heat generation. In addition, the WEF says that USD 13,5 trillion of investment is needed to “fast track” decarbonization of key industry sectors. However, research shows that solutions are within reach. In many cases, a transformation is well underway indicating that the pathway to net zero 2050 is not unachievable.

Where IEC Standards can help

Standards and conformity assessment have contributed to the fast growth rate for renewable energy capacity, as recorded by the IEA last year. Several IEC Technical Committees develop international standards for renewable energy systems including IEC TC 117: Solar thermal electric plants and IEC TC 114: Marine energy generation. IEC TC 82 standards are used the world over to produce solar photovoltaic modules or panels and the IEC 61400 standards published by IEC TC 88 are the industry-accepted benchmarks for wind energy generation systems. IECRE (the IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications) is the internationally accepted conformity assessment system for all power plants producing, storing, or converting energy from renewable sources.

Energy efficiency is also one of the important ways of reducing industry emissions. The IEC defines energy efficiency as the ratio between output performance compared with the input of energy. It consists of the following: using less energy for the same performance, using the same energy for better performance, or improving the conversion of energy into electricity.

Several technologies standardized by the IEC enable companies to improve their energy efficiency. For example, electric motors. According to the IEA, electric motor driven systems are responsible for 53% of global electricity consumption. Motors are used everywhere, from conveyor belts, escalators and lifts to the huge number of machines employed throughout industry for manufacturing processes right down to pumps employed for water irrigation.

IEC TC 2 publishes the IEC 60034 series of international standards, including the internationally relevant test standard for electric motors, IEC 60034-2-1, and the IEC 60034-30-1 classification scheme comprising four levels of motor efficiency. The standard has become a reference for governments around the world which have included it in their regulations. The IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components (IECEE) runs the IECEE Global Motor Energy Efficiency Programme (GMEEP). The programme tests motors in relation to the IEC 60034-2-1 Standard.

The IEC is also working with AFID, the Alliance for Industry Decarbonization, which aims to decarbonize industrial value chains and accelerate net-zero ambitions. The Commission is one of the organization’s ecosystem knowledge partners.

Concrete steps towards less carbon-intensive practices

An example of how industry is trying to clean up its act is the cement and concrete industry. Cement is the second most used substance on earth after water. It is vital for much of our modern infrastructure. It forms concrete when mixed with water and is used in the construction of everything from buildings and bridges to roads and pavements. It has also historically been detrimental to the environment and accountable for 7% of global carbon emissions. Production is forecast by the WEF to grow by 38% by 2050 if no intervention is made to use it more efficiently through design, re-use or recycling.

Pollution predominantly stems from the chemical reaction that turns limestone into cement, but also from the energy used to produce the high temperatures needed to make it. Additional carbon costs come from its transportation.

Efforts to combat the challenge are being led by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA). In 2021 its members signed up to the 2050 Net Zero Roadmap committed to accelerating decarbonization. Members include all the major cement manufacturers around the world as well as associations representing the industry. "We are well aware of our responsibility, and the industry in Germany is willing to make its contribution towards achieving climate neutrality in the future", says Christian Knell, President of the German Cement Works Association (VDZ) and one of the members of the GCCA.

Energy harvesting and carbon capture

The approach rests heavily on the development of carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) projects. This is expected to account for 36% of the industry’s global carbon reductions, according to the GCCA Roadmap. CCUS looks at concrete’s entire life cycle including the use of materials; manufacturing, transportation, construction processes; and post-construction maintenance, repair, and disposal or reuse.

For example, low carbon cement can be made with less clinker – the carbon intensive element of traditional cement production, and make more use of alternative materials, such as calcined clay. Clinker requires the extraction of limestone in quarries and its subsequent burning at temperatures of 1450 °C in rotary kilns, which is not the case with calcined clay.

The use of renewable energies are also part of the equation as well as energy harvesting. Examples highlighted by the GCCA include plans by a Chinese giant and the world’s biggest cement manufacturer. The company decarbonized its cement plants by recovering waste heat to generate power. Waste heat recovery systems within CNBM’s cement business generate 9,04 billion KWH power a year, which it claims results in reducing 2,91 million tonnes CO2 emissions in the same year. It also uses geothermal energy wherever possible to generate the electricity it requires on top of what it recovers through energy harvesting.

A progress report published by the GCCA last year said these efforts were making a difference. It pointed to “independently verified data” showing a 23% drop in carbon “emission intensity of cement related material”, compared to 1990 levels.

However, Fernando Gonzalez, GCCA President, warned that it would take the combined efforts of industry, governments and societies on a global scale to deliver on the 2050 commitment.

Conformity assessment to check carbon footprint

Carbon footprint claims are perhaps one of the most common indicators that companies use to reflect their efforts towards reducing emissions. However, the methodologies used by different organizations to arrive at the claims might differ and therefore the outcomes may not be comparable. To avoid misrepresentations, a verification of the carbon footprint of various products is essential. It is also a way of avoiding the “greenwashing” label which is applied to companies claiming that they are greener than they actually are.

This verification is one of the services offered by IECQ, the IEC Quality Assessment System, which is one of the four IEC Conformity Assessment Systems. It is based on ISO 14067, Greenhouse gases – Carbon footprint of products – Requirements and guidelines for quantification. The standard categorizes the calculation of the carbon footprint of a product or service into three main stages:

• Direct emissions from the manufacturing process, including the production of the product components, assembly and packaging.
• Indirect emissions from the energy used during the product's use, such as electricity consumption during operation.
• Emissions associated with the end-of-life stage, including transportation, disposal and recycling.

Working hand in hand with industry

Whether by helping industry to adopt renewable energy systems, which are safe and efficient, promoting energy efficient technologies or enabling companies to check and verify carbon emission claims, the IEC is paving the way for a net zero world. In its technical committees, experts from many various industries together with regulators, academics and consumer organizations publish the appropriate standards, achieved through hard work and compromise.