Efficient industry means lower costs for manufacturers, cleaner air for communities, and a stronger economy.
Industry and manufacturing account for roughly a third of all energy used in the United States. The plants and factories that drive America’s productivity can cut costs, increase efficiency, compete in global markets, and benefit the communities around them. That future is achievable through smarter policies, better programs, and technologies that are already proving themselves in facilities across the country. ACEEE works effectively to accelerate that transition, reach more facilities, and ensure the benefits extend to the workers and communities that depend on them.
This sector is among the most complex to decarbonize. A core challenge is process heat: The thermal energy that powers everything from bakeries to steel mills accounts for more than 70% of all industrial energy use, and more than 90% of it still comes from burning expensive fossil fuels. Innovation has delivered electrified technologies that are both 2-5x more efficient and safer for plant workers and local communities.
A second core challenge is the carbon emitted in industrial processes themselves, whether that is the heating of limestone to make cement, the use of coke in blast furnaces, or the conversion of oil and gas to chemicals and plastics. For example, nearly 60% of the CO2 emissions from cement come from the treatment of limestone.
The final challenge is load growth, which leads to constrained grid resources and delays manufacturing expansion. For decades, industrial facilities have been significant participants in programs that keep the grid operating during peak electricity use. Industry can continue that path and provide major opportunities as flexible grid resources.
ACEEE works across all these challenges, from the policies and programs that accelerate industrial electrification to the market frameworks that help manufacturers and utilities capture demand flexibility and the coalitions that work to clean up chemical manufacturing’s environmental footprint. ACEEE’s industrial work combines rigorous research, direct policy engagement, and targeted market facilitation. We analyze emerging technologies, from industrial heat pumps to new forms of concrete, and publish findings that help manufacturers, utilities, and regulators understand the opportunity and overcome barriers to adoption. We engage with regulators to advocate for industrial efficiency standards and programs, and provide technical assistance to states and utilities developing new industrial energy offerings.
Through the IHP Alliance (a collaboration with the Renewable Thermal Collaborative and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association) we connect manufacturers with the tools, funding pathways, and success stories they need to act. We track market progress through ongoing research that documents where deployments are happening, what’s driving them, and what’s still in the way. And through the Chemical Catalyst Collaborative, we convene industry leaders, government officials, environmental advocates, and community representatives to design solutions that reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and toxic pollution from one of the country’s most challenging manufacturing sectors.
What We Work On
Industrial Heat: The electrification of process heat through industrial heat pumps, electric boilers, and thermal batteries; the utility programs and market pathways needed to deploy them at scale; and ACEEE’s coordination work through the IHP Alliance.
Industrial Demand Side Management: How industrial facilities can optimize their energy consumption through demand response, flexible scheduling, and smart controls, cutting costs, reducing peak demand, and supporting grid reliability as electricity loads grow.
Embodied Carbon: Reducing the carbon embedded in construction materials—cement, steel, glass, and more—through procurement policies, market incentives, and technical support for lower-carbon production.
Chemicals: Decarbonizing and detoxifying chemical manufacturing through research, market development, and multi-stakeholder convenings coordinated through the Chemical Catalyst Collaborative.
Smart Manufacturing: How digitalization, connected systems, and advanced data tools can help industrial facilities manage energy more intelligently across operations.
This report identifies pathways for India’s cement industry to decarbonise at a pace compatible with the national climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2070.
Unlocking Industrial Electrification in California
California today has more gas-fired industrial boilers than any other state, causing significant climate and air pollution. The California Public Utilities Commission can cut this pollution by upda…
ACEEE’s independent research and advocacy depend on the support of foundations, businesses, and individuals committed to cutting energy bills, waste, and climate pollution.
