Energy efficiency (EE) improvement is one of the most crucial elements in the decarbonization of industry. EE potential within industries largely remains untapped due to the lack of information regarding potential EE measures (EEM), knowledge regarding energy use, and due to the existence of some inconsistencies in the evaluation of energy use. Classification of energy end-using processes would increase the understanding of energy use, which in turn would increase the detection and deployment of EEMs. The study presents a novel taxonomy with hierarchical levels for energy end-use in manufacturing operations for the engineering industry, analyzes processes in terms of energy end-use (EEU) and CO2 emissions, and scrutinizes energy performance indicators (EnPIs), as well as proposing potential new EnPIs that are suitable for the engineering industry. Even though the study has been conducted with a focus on the Swedish engineering industry, the study may be generalizable to the engineering industry beyond Sweden.
Future ships need to operate with low or possibly zero
greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions while ensuring low influence on other environmental
impacts and that the operation is economically feasible. This study
conducts a life-cycle evaluation of potential decarbonization solutions
involving selected energy carriers (electrolytic hydrogen, electro-ammonia,
electro-methanol, and electricity) in different propulsion system
setups (engines, fuel cells, and carbon capture technologies) in terms
of environmental impact and costs. The results of the study show that
the assessed decarbonization options are promising measures to reduce
maritime GHG emissions with low-carbon-intensive electricity. The
same order of GHG reduction is shown to be possible independent of
the propulsion system and energy carrier used onboard. However, the
carbon abatement cost ranges from 300 to 550 €/tCO
2
eq, and there is a trade-off with environmental impacts such as human
toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects) and freshwater ecotoxicity
mainly linked with the wind infrastructure used for electricity production.
Electro-ammonia in fuel cells is indicated to be effective in terms
of the carbon abatement cost followed by the so-called HyMethShip
concept. The higher abatement cost of all options compared to current
options indicates that major incentives and policy measures are required
to promote the introduction of alternative fuel and propulsion systems.
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