Energy efficiency in the energy-intensive industry: barriers, optimism and R&D needs

Improving industrial energy efficiency is a crucial goal for manufacturing firms. As investments during the phase of operation are limited to incremental efficiency improvements which are subject to short payback periods it is difficult to achieve major steps in boosting energy efficiency. However, significant effort is needed in order to comply with the EU's 2050 targets and the Paris agreement. This transition perspective implies the urgent need for new energy efficient and low carbon technologies. In order to identify the required R&D needs for an increase in industrial energy efficiency, we conducted two R&D roadmap processes in Austria, involving representatives of the major national energy-intensive industries. The stakeholder participation process shows that industry faces short-term barriers, but is optimistic to realize energy-efficient and fossil-free processes in the long run. We identify sector-specific breakthrough technologies as the main field of research.