How to decarbonise industry: what international experts think
Meaning of decarbonisation
Decarbonisation involves reducing and eventually eliminating the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from any particular activity. To effectively address climate change, there is a crucial need to rapidly bring industries towards zero emissions.
However, there is no one simple solution. Industrial decarbonisation involves accounting for a plethora of factors: technical processes, business priorities, economic policies, energy sources, and geographic region, to name a few. Equans is leading a host of decarbonisation efforts in North America and in the UK.
Industrial decarbonisation: which types of industries are concerned?
Every industry across the world will be challenged by the need to decarbonise, but some face a more complex challenge than others. We take a closer look at the individual challenges of key sectors and how Equans can help provide solutions.
Decarbonisation of heavy industrial sectors
Heavy industry refers to those industries that require a large capital investment, such as large and complex machinery, in order to create their products. It includes industries such as cement manufacture, petrochemicals, metallurgy, and paper pulp plants. Direct emissions from heavy industry account for 20-25% of greenhouse gas emissions, while consuming about 40% of global energy demand. Equans’ expertise is as diverse as the heavy industry itself, working with companies including Cascades, ArcelorMittal, and HOLCIM to support their energy transition towards renewable energy sources.
Decarbonisation of the steel industry
The steel industry is energy-intensive and is responsible for about 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions. To reduce this contribution, many are working to integrate steel more closely into the circular economy and to make production processes more efficient. Equans’ expertise can facilitate this transition, including through our deep experience in mechanics, fluidics, and robotics, to transform steelmaking into a highly energy-efficient and longevity-focused industry.
Decarbonisation in shipping
The shipping and maritime transport industry is responsible for about 3% of global emissions, but this figure could rise to 17% by 2050 given the societal demand for this sector and the challenges involved in its decarbonisation. Yet, innovative solutions are being developed, including alternative fuels, clean propulsion, and waste heat recovery. AXIMA Marine, an entity of the Equans group, uses its specialties in HVAC and refrigeration systems to support major shipbuilding companies. For Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Equans Axima led the design and installation of a world-class air conditioning and ventilation system for the giant cruise ship, Wonder of the Seas.
Decarbonisation in pharmaceuticals
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are growing rapidly as scientific and medical discoveries open up ever more possibilities for healthcare. Equans supports these industries in overcoming a range of challenges, including decarbonisation. For instance, many laboratory facilities require closely controlled internal climates, which Equans can deliver through leading innovative HVAC and refrigeration installations.
Diverse industries
We work with a wide-ranging and ever-growing array of industries across many different nations. For instance, Equans has supported the unique decarbonisation journeys of a Belgian brewery, a US electric vehicle semiconductor production plant, a French confectionery factory, an Austrian dairy, a Swiss nutritional products factory, a Dutch fruit juice factory, and a UK scaffolding company.
Equans’ ability to offer bespoke solutions is one of our greatest strengths. To be able to offer such solutions, we assess many questions when we take on a project.
How mature are industries when it comes to decarbonisation? What are their motivations? What regulatory constraints are they subjected to? What about the economic situation? What skills and energies are available? Are there subsidies and financial support available to help manufacturers get their energy transition underway?
By providing its clients with advice, expertise and experience in relation to all of these questions, Equans' teams can provide tailor-made solutions in their particular region.
In North America, target those industries which use the most energy
In North America, Equans has access to a team of business developers based in Montréal and Ottawa in Canada, and in Boston in the US. Their mission is to help manufacturers, retail spaces and local authorities on the East Coast optimise their sites and production facilities. As far as decarbonisation is concerned, Canadian industries are endeavouring to comply with the various commitments that the government has made. This is so as to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and prepare for the carbon tax, which will gradually be implemented between 2023 and 2030. In the US, in the face of a great deal of industrial lobbying, many states have introduced financial incentives, rather than bringing in restrictive legislation. Helping manufacturers find out what subsidies they are entitled to and creating a financial model to start decarbonising their area of activity are fundamental.
“A complete financial model, a long-term vision”
In North America, energy is indeed less expensive and is less affected by inflation than it is in Europe. In order to turn reducing consumption into a fully-fledged lever for economic performance, the Equans teams have to target those industries which use the most energy – such as metallurgy, cement manufacture, petrochemicals and paper pulp plants. So Equans has been working to support the heavy industrial sector with its energy transition, assessing opportunities to a full implementation, with companies like Cascades, Arcelor Mittal and HOLCIM.
“Some companies have set themselves ambitious emission reduction goals in their corporate agendas as far as reducing emissions is concerned. But these aggressive objectives require a complex offering, bundling a technical, logistical and financial solution. That's why they need our support.”, says Elie Asmar, director of energy business development and sustainable solutions at Equans services in Montréal.
“Nowadays, it is no longer simply a question of targeting buildings’ heating and air-conditioning systems. We also have to tackle production processes and come up with radical new technologies to optimise them. Waste heat recovery is a good example”.
Equans’ teams develop turnkey solutions and are involved in each and every stage: conducting facility audits and gauging current consumption, producing roadmaps appropriate for each client and putting together corresponding financing solutions, as well as overseeing implementation and providing long-term maintenance. “Our approach involves placing the emphasis on the total cost of ownership, rather than on investment spending (CAPEX). That includes maintenance, the life cycle of raw materials, etc.We include all parameters so we can provide a comprehensive economic and financial model, as well as a global, long-term overview. That is doubtless what sets Equans apart from its competitors in this particular geographical region”, says Elie Asmar.
“Requests for solutions have more than doubled”
Over the past two or three years, in circumstances made challenging by the pandemic and the increase in energy prices, “requests for solutions designed to reduce energy consumption have more than doubled”, says James Rooke, Managing Director, Energy & Carbon Solutions at Equans in the UK: “In addition to keeping energy costs under control, what we do involves reducing risks by catering to people’s desire for transparency from investment through to operation through and the supply chain. It's not just a question of the cost of energy consumption, but also of resilience,revenue and brand equity – that is what will keep business resilient.”
These circumstances, and the impacts of the war in Ukraine on energy prices and security, have meant that client focus has intensified. We no longer just have to provide technical solutions that are profitable in the short term, we also have to design a whole strategy and manage long-term risks, energy security and asset value
In the UK, the added value that Equans provides is therefore not just its technical expertise, but also its ability to incorporate this expertise into a company’s global strategy, by assessing the reduction in costs and the reduction in risk.
Because decarbonisation is an increasingly geometrically complex and involves expertise in a plethora of different areas (including waste heat, electric mobility and data analytics), Equans' Decarbonisation Business Club is particularly precious. It provides us a platform for sharing experience, knowledge, tools and innovations.