Industrial Energy Efficiency

Overview

Next-generation manufacturing has the potential to strengthen the economy while minimizing environmental impacts. We conduct decision analysis support and develop analytical tools designed to enable the identification, development and deployment of technologies and strategies that have the potential to:

• Improve energy-water-materials efficiency
• Reduce the carbon footprint
• Enhance competitiveness across various sectors in the industrial economy

Examples of ongoing projects include strategic analysis support for U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, development and maintenance of the Lifecycle Industry GreenHouse gas, Technology and Energy through the Use Phase (LIGHTEnUP) tool, scenario analysis modeling of emerging water desalination technologies, and energy use modeling for the U.S. data center sector.

In the global context, we conduct in-depth analysis including energy demand forecasting, energy efficiency improvement potentials, and energy savings and emissions reduction opportunities in the energy-intensive industries (e.g., iron and steel, chemicals, petroleum refining, cement, aluminum, pulp and paper), as well as some light industries (e.g., food processing, textiles, wood products, printing and publishing, metal processing). Our work includes global modeling and assessment. We have developed various energy efficiency technology guidebooks, as well as analytical tools such as energy auditing tools, benchmarking tools, and techno-economic analysis tools.