The increasing demand for sustainable and low-carbon-footprint products drives the need for specific and comprehensive information on product environmental footprints. In this presentation, Wacker and AllocNow discuss why standardization of sustainability accounting methodologies is critical and how a data-driven approach can help to create transparency at scale. In a case study, they demonstrate how to operationalize the recently published TfS PCF-Guideline with AllocNow's Product Sustainability Platform.

State of the art - industrial raw data use in manufacturing - challenges - the concept of the Energy Digital Twin to detect over-consumption and identify consumption reduction levers - Use-cases from the paper & packaging industry

Thermal storage and industrial heat The industrial sector, for example, largely depends on fossil fuels to meet energy demand. Heat, almost entirely generated by fossil fuels, makes up two-thirds of industrial energy demand across all industrial processes and almost one-fifth of global energy consumption.  Industrial carbon emissions represent 29 percent of global greenhouse gas output in an average year. Decarbonising this massive source of emissions is critical as the global economy charts a course to a more sustainable future. EnergyNest’s Thermal Battery product is modular, scalable and purpose-built for industrial applications. It is made from abundant, recyclable and non-hazardous geomaterials that are easy to acquire, which means local workforces and materials can be used for its manufacture and transportation can be kept to a minimum. The technology behind the Thermal Battery System is proven, with verifiable performance, and allows for the construction of compact storage systems with high energy density and low losses. The product’s thermal storage capacity can range from megawatt-hours to gigawatt hours. Multiple elements are combined in a Thermal Battery Module, which form the basic units that make up the Thermal Battery System. The modules are designed for easy transportation, on-site assembly and the majority of piping works to be prefabricated and pressure tested before installation. Impact and projects: Balancing out CST production for a tape-factory The production unit of Avery Dennison in Belgium is shifting their heat production from natural gas to CST, which will be the largest CST platform in Europe together with solar thermal developer bv Azteq. The CST plant will supply thermal energy to the steam generator supplying steam to the production plant. Excess thermal energy will be stored in the thermal battery and dispatch it upon demand and at night, helping to further reduce emissions and enabling the plant to meet their reduction target of 70% as part of the company’s 2030 sustainability targets and net zero emissions by 2050.  

Generally, when discussing the correlation between industries and their reliance on fossil fuels, as well as strategies for achieving net zero emissions, solar power and photovoltaics (PV) are often the first solutions that come to mind. Solar power, particularly PV, can decrease the electricity needs of industries. However, it is important to note that over 80% of industries utilize electricity primarily for thermal or cooling purposes. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce and familiarize the audience with an innovative and groundbreaking parabolic trough (PTC) technology. This technology offers a viable alternative to directly and effectively replace the thermal and cooling requirements of industries, by significantly higher efficiencies. By adopting this technology, enterprises can make substantial progress toward their net zero goals. 

The second largest emission driver in Germany after energy production is the industry; thus of central importance for climate change [1,5]. In the production process, optimized production processes are usually considered, but due to the energy price increases and the energy audit obligation, the consideration of production-relevant cross-sectional technologies (utilities) is becoming increasingly relevant. The most expensive utility technology is compressed air. There are approximately 310,000 compressed air systems installed in Europe. To generate the industrial compressed air required for this purpose, nearly 80 TW/h of electricity is needed. To get a feeling for this order of magnitude: This corresponds to about 8 times the annual electricity consumption of the city of Hamburg. If compressed air is used efficiently and smartly, there is potential for savings of up to 50%. Energy efficiency and transparency are the focus of our tech-start-up LOOXR. Our goal is to optimize the expensive energy carrier compressed air with our software by measuring, visualizing and analyzing compressed air key data and leakages from the entire compressed air process via web applications. Using intelligent software, we are able to offer smart and energy-efficient compressed air and leverage a savings potential of up to 50%. If we were chosen for a speaking slot, we would point out the potential in the field of compressed air based on customer examples throughout the whole process chain of compressed air. The customer examples would be out of different industries due to the fact that compressed air is relevant in 90% of all producing industries and would offer best-practice examples for other corporations to identify a potential to decrease both: energy-costs as well as CO2-emissions.