Energy efficiency improvement for decarbonization in manufacturing industry: A review
Marius Naumann, Moritz Ostermann, Nadja Buchenau, Jannik Oetzel, Florian Schlosser, Henning Meschede, Thomas Tröster
Abstract
The imperative for industrial decarbonization is underscored by political and sustainability requirements. Energy efficiency stands as a foundational pillar in the comprehensive strategy aimed at decarbonizing industrial processes. The heterogeneity and potential interdependencies of energy use in the manufacturing industry necessitates systematic methods and tools, especially in identifying energy efficiency potentials as well as deriving, assessing and prioritizing energy efficiency measures. To address these challenges, this study aims to review existing methods that prioritize decarbonization through holistic and systematic energy efficiency initiatives based on an introduced framework for holistic energy efficiency improvement. Due to the identified lack of holistic approaches in existing methods, this study ultimately proposes directions for future research. This includes the generic and modular modeling of energy demands at different manufacturing levels to identify the technical efficiency potentials, the automated and holistic derivation of energy efficiency measures based on energy efficiency analysis, and multi-criteria assessment and prioritization approach considering interactions between measures. In summary, the development of energy efficiency improvement methods as digitalized and standardized software components for systematic implementation is proposed to support the holistic improvement of energy efficiency and contribute to informed decision-making in the context of industrial decarbonization strategies.