Publications

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Case Study: Solar Thermal at Boortmalt Malting Plant

Discover how Boortmalt, a global malting company and Axereal subsidiary, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Kyotherm to finance a solar thermal plant at its Issoudun, France malting facility. Generating 8.5 GWh of renewable heat annually, the system meets 10% of the plant’s thermal energy demand, […]

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Case Study: Solar Thermal at the Indianapolis International Airport

Learn how the Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA) partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Solar UV Solutions to install a solar thermal system at the Indianapolis International Airport (IND). This case study details how the IAA installed 70 SunQuest 250 solar thermal collectors on the roof of […]

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Solar Thermal Action Plan

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative’s Solar Thermal Action Plan outlines a comprehensive strategy to accelerate the adoption of solar thermal technology for industrial process heating. This plan highlights the significant potential of solar thermal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the RTC’s overall goal […]

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Chemical Sector Assessment

The Chemical Sector Assessment provides a comprehensive analysis of decarbonization opportunities within the U.S. chemical industry, which accounts for approximately 20% of the country’s overall industrial emissions. This report outlines effective strategies to reduce thermal emissions. If implemented, these approaches could deliver over 60% decarbonization […]

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Case Study: Thermal Energy Storage at Herkkumaa Food Manufacturing Facility

Herkkumaa Oy, a Finnish food manufacturer, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Elstor Oy to deploy a 10 MWh thermal energy storage (TES) system to decarbonize its steam production. Implemented in 2023, this system converts electricity into thermal energy and stores it for on-demand use, replacing […]

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Case Study: MVR Heat Pumps & Thermal Efficiency at Chivas Brothers Distillery

Explore how Chivas Brothers implemented innovative heat pump technology from RTC Solutions Provider Piller Blowers & Compressors at its distillery in Scotland to increase efficiency and reduce emissions. The project uses mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) technology to recover thermal energy from the whisky distillation process, […]

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Case Study: Decarbonizing Process Heat at California Dairies, Inc. with Skyven Technologies

Explore how California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), the largest member-owned dairy cooperative in California, partnered with RTC Solutions Provider Skyven Technologies to decarbonize industrial process heat across two major facilities. This case study details the project’s integrated approach to deploying solar thermal technology, smart steam traps, […]

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Case Study: AstraZeneca and Vanguard Renewables U.S. RNG Agreement

This case study details the groundbreaking renewable natural gas (RNG) agreement between RTC Member AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, and RTC Solutions Provider Vanguard Renewables. It provides an in-depth look at one of the largest business-to-business RNG purchases in the North American voluntary market, which […]

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Electrification Action Plan

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative’s Electrification Action Plan lays out an ambitious, multi-year strategy to address barriers to electrification. It provides a vision for the priority market, policy, and community actions that will drive the RTC towards its goal of a 30% reduction in U.S. industrial […]

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RTC Justice40 Opportunity Assessment

The Renewable Thermal Collaborative’s (RTC) membership includes industrial manufacturing companies, non-profits, institutions, and governments with footprints and thermal energy needs throughout the United States. Strategies to decarbonize industrial heat vary greatly from location to location, depending in part on the availability of policy support and […]

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Thermal Batteries: Opportunities to Accelerate Decarbonization of Industrial Heat

Thermal batteries present the opportunity to reduce nearly all greenhouse gas emissions from industrial heat, a sizable portion of overall U.S. emissions, by drawing from increasingly abundant renewable electricity sources. Thermal batteries use simple components and storage materials to take clean electricity from grid and […]

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Congressional Policy Priorities to Decarbonize U.S. Industry and Enhance Competitiveness

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) made some significant investments in industrial decarbonization, particularly for clean hydrogen and carbon capture, storage, and utilization. However, analyses show that the IRA does not adequately incentivize the full range of renewable […]

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Playbook for Decarbonizing Process Heat in the Food & Beverage Sector

In the U.S., food & beverage processing produces more emissions from industrial heat use than any other sector outside of refineries, chemicals, or iron & steel. 97% of the heat in this sector falls in the low-temperature range, making electrification with heat pumps and electric […]

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Electrification Road Map

This roadmap is designed to help thermal energy users identify, analyze, and execute electrification projects. It categorizes what companies need to consider and the questions they need to ask while exploring electrification options.

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Case Study: Solar Thermal at Colgate-Palmolive Factory

To advance their decarbonization goals, RTC Member Colgate-Palmolive installed a solar thermal system, built by RTC Solutions Provider Absolicon, on the roof of a home goods manufacturing facility in Athens, Greece. After considering other renewable options, Colgate chose solar thermal because it integrates with their […]

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Green Hydrogen Technology Assessment

Green hydrogen, produced using electrolysis and renewable electricity, can play a unique and critical role in decarbonizing high-heat industrial processes, such as manufacturing steel, chemicals, and cement. According to the Renewable Thermal Vision Report published by the Renewable Thermal Collaborative, blue and green hydrogen can […]

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Industrial Electrification in U.S. States – Factsheets

Meeting the United States’ goals of reducing carbon emissions 50-52% by 2035 requires a concentrated effort to develop and deploy clean technologies across sectors. The country’s industrial sector poses a serious challenge: while the share of renewable energy used to generate electricity continues to grow, […]

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Industrial Electrification in U.S. States

Meeting the United States’ goals of reducing carbon emissions 50-52% by 2035 requires a concentrated effort to develop and deploy clean technologies across sectors. The country’s industrial sector poses a serious challenge: while the share of renewable energy used to generate electricity continues to grow, […]

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Many analyses, including the Renewable Thermal Vision Report, identify electric heat pumps as a critical opportunity to decarbonize low-temperature industrial heat generation, which accounts for 29% of total U.S. industrial thermal emissions. Heat pumps have garnered attention for their ability to utilize heat from ambient […]

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The Renewable Thermal Vision for U.S. Industrial Decarbonization

The US industrial sector produces 24% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, over half of which come from thermal energy use to create the products we use and the food we eat. Until recently, this was the forgotten wedge of US climate […]

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Case Study: University of California, Davis ‘Big Shift’ Electrification Project

The University of California, Davis constructed a new hot water heating system powered by electricity to replace old, natural gas-powered steam equipment. The project, named the Big Shift, will reduce UC Davis’ overall carbon emissions by at least 40% and enable the University to achieve Scope 1 and Scope 2

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Case Study: University of California Renewable Natural Gas/Biomethane Procurement

Together with direct electrification, energy efficiency, and renewable electricity projects, the University of California1 (the University or UC) is procuring biomethane to replace 40% of its natural gas needs. This biomethane procurement strategy is an integral part of the University of California’s plan to reach net zero Scope 1 and

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Green Hydrogen Primer

To help energy users and policymakers better understand this rapidly evolving technology, this primer focuses on the application of green hydrogen for industrial process heat and provides a high-level analysis of both the potential and challenges of this technology. It is intended to enhance the knowledge of energy buyers, policymakers,

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Case Study: Diageo Distillery

When constructing a new distillery in Kentucky, Diageo decided to use electric boilers powered by a mix of 100% renewable wind and solar energy sources rather than conventional thermal processes. This choice — in addition to several sustainability features — resulted in significant avoided emissions […]

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Clean Industrial Heat: A Technology Inclusive Framework

This brief was prepared by C2ES with the generous support of Breakthrough Energy, LLC. for the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) and C2ES Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) to inform discussions on pathways for decarbonizing thermal heating loads for the industrial sector. This brief presents several […]

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Solar Thermal Technology Assessment

Thermal energy is a key component of energy use in the United States and around the world, particularly in the industrial sector. Energy used for process heat and space heating accounts for 75 percent of global final industrial energy demand. In the U.S., fossil fuel […]

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Low-Carbon Renewable Thermal Technology Solutions: Policies to Support Development and Deployment

While policy solutions have been implemented for decades to expand the development of and access to renewable electricity, low-carbon renewable thermal technologies in particular, and low-carbon technologies for industry in general, have not benefitted from such widespread policy support. In order to be effective, any […]

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Electrifying U.S. Industry: A Technology- and Process-Based Approach to Decarbonization

On January 27, 2021, Global Efficiency Intelligence (GEI) and David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) released Electrifying U.S. Industry: A Technology and Process-Based Approach to Decarbonization, a new report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative. The report finds that there is a significant opportunity to decarbonize the industrial […]

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A Primer: The Importance of Addressing Your Thermal Footprint

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and David Gardiner and Associates published a report that is intended to help commercial, industrial, and institutional (C&I) organizations set targets for renewable thermal energy usage. Drawing […]

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What Renewable Electricity Markets Can Tell Us About the Future of Renewable Thermal Energy

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) published an issue brief and factsheet regarding the role of renewable thermal technologies in state renewable portfolio standards and thoughts on what renewable electricity markets can tell us about the […]

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Sustainable Options for Reducing Emissions from Thermal Energy: Showcasing Successful Outcomes from Six Case Studies

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) published a series of six case studies illustrating renewable thermal technologies used by Members of the Renewable Thermal Collaborative. The set of case studies represents a range of […]

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A Landscape Review of the Global Renewable Heating and Cooling Market

Today, in a report to the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), David Gardiner and Associates (DGA) published a landscape review of existing literature that identifies the status of the existing and potential renewable thermal marketplace both globally and in the U.S. The report focuses on four […]

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Renewable Heating and Cooling for Industrial Applications: Guidance for Carbon Accounting

Renewable Heating and Cooling for Industrial Applications: Guidance for Carbon Accounting, was developed by independent research from Ecofys, a Navigant company, and published in collaboration with the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) with support from Mars Incorporated. Part of the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, the RTC is harnessing corporate […]

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