Modelling energy saving potential in industry

Ahcène Djemaa, EDF R&D, France
Alain Hita, research engineer, EDF R&D, France
Gilles Guerassimoff and Nadia Maïzi, Centre de Mathématiques appliquées de l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, France

Keywords

industry, technology, energy efficiency, bottom-up model, TIMES model, CO2 emissions

Abstract

Among the energy users in France and Europe, some industrial sectors are very important and should have a key role when assessing the final energy demand patterns in the future.

The aim of our work is to apply a prospective model for the long range analysis of energy/technology choices in the industrial sector, focussing on the energy-intensive sectors.

The modelling tool applied in this study is the TIMES model (family of best known MARKAL model). It is an economic linear programming model generator for local, national or multi regional energy systems, which provides a technology-rich basis for estimating energy dynamics over a long term, multi period time.

We illustrate our work with two energy-intensive industrial sectors: paper and steel manufacturing. It includes a detailed description of the processes involved in the production of paper and steel, providing typical energy uses in each process step.

In our analysis, we identified for each industry, over 15 commercially available state-of-the-art technologies, characterized and chosen by the Model on the basis of cost effectiveness. Furthermore, we calculated potential energy savings, carbon dioxide emissions’ reduction and we estimated the energy impact of a technological rupture. This report indicates that there still exists a significant potential for energy savings and carbon dioxide emissions’ reduction in both industries.