02-07-2013

Energy and GHG reductions in the chemical industry via catalytic processes

TCGR would  like to acknowledge the important work by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and DECHEMA Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA) in their jointly released Technology Roadmap entitled “Technology Roadmap: Energy and GHG Reductions in the Chemical Industry via Catalytic Processes.” Key findings from the report include:
* The manufacture of 18 products (among thousands) from the chemical industry account for 80% of energy demand in the chemical industry and 75% of GHG emissions.
* Catalyst and related process improvements could reduce energy intensity for these products by 20% to 40% as a whole by 2050.
* Achieving the deepest energy and emissions cuts will require development and deployment of emerging technologies that exceed the capacity of current best practice technologies (BPT).
* A step change in the sector’s energy consumption and GHG emissions would require the development of “game changer” technologies.
* Therefore, long-term investment and support for research and development (R&D) to enable innovation is warranted to continue advances in new technologies.
 
Key actions for the Chemical Industry are to identify top catalyst/process-related opportunities, accelerate R&D and capital investments that improve energy efficiency, and facilitate R&D on game changers with partners to lower barriers to operating costs. Global governments need to support and implement policies and funding which support energy and GHG reductions.
 
In recognizing the gap between best practice technologies (BPT) and emerging/game changing technologies, TCGR is pleased to report that, via work with study subscribers and program members, we’ve already taken numerous steps to identify the top catalyst- and process-related opportunities, and we have begun to define the next steps needed to achieve energy and GHG reductions. TCGR’s two recently completed multi-clients studies entitled Unconventional Catalytic Olefins Production: Commercial Vision and Breakout? and GTL/XTL: An Assessment of the Technologies, Business and Competitive Landscape, 2010 to 2020 identify the most promising technologies/catalysts for olefins production and chemicals/fuels from gas-based feedstock, respectively.
 
Additionally, TCGR’s membership programs, the Catalytic Advances Program (CAP) and the Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion (CO2CC) Program, continuously monitor advances in catalysis, and opportunities to improve energy efficiency and convert CO2 into chemicals/fuels. Recent membership program reports featuring game changing technology include the CAP report entitled Advances in Catalytic Production of Olefins and the CO2CC Program report entitled Progress Towards Cost-Effective H2 Supply and Energy Sources for CO2 Activation in Conversion Applications.

Beyond these recently completed and immediately available studies, TCGR will also be proposing a multi-client study series directed towards specifically addressing the technology developments considered “beyond” the IEA/ICCA/DECHEMA Technology Roadmap BPTs. We will be sharing a proposal shortly and look forward to your interest/support. We encourage you to inquire about our reports, and our client-specific consulting in support of them, to get a head-start on achieving the energy and GHG reductions identified by the Technology Roadmap!

The Technology Roadmap can be downloaded HERE