Pathway of industry
POI follows industry’s current transformation plans. The results show that Austrian manufacturing industry is well placed to achieve significant progress towards climate neutrality by 2050. Total energy demand increases to 168 TWh when electrolysis losses are considered. Without electrolysis losses, the energy demand amounts to 151 TWh. Depending on the balance boundary considered, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by up to 31 Mt CO₂e to just 0.6 Mt in 2050, when the emission intensity of electrolysis for hydrogen production is excluded. In addition to wide-reaching fuel switches to sustainable energy carriers, the sequestration of geogenic emissions and application of innovative process technologies for primary steel production are the main drivers for this development.
Results
The POI scenario models current transformation plans announced by leading industrial stakeholders for the period up to 2030 under current and foreseeable conditions, and extrapolated to 2050.
- Energy demand to 2050 will be met by three key energy sources: electricity, gases and biomass.
- These will be generated using renewables.
- The total energy demand rises to 168 TWh (including electrolysis losses, 151 TWh without losses).
- Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 31 Mt to 0.6 Mt in 2050 (without electrolysis).
The most important contributions are:
- CO₂ emitted during the manufacture of cement is captured and used in the chemical industry.
- Primary steel production is powered using renewable gas and electricity.
- Basic materials for the chemical industry are manufactured from hydrogen (derivatives) and biomass.