Industrial thermal energy needs, especially for heat, are a significant challenge for climate change mitigation efforts. Worldwide, industrial heat makes up two-thirds of industrial energy demand and almost one-fifth of total energy consumption.  However, only ten percent of this demand is met using renewable energy. In the U.S., fossil fuel combustion to produce heat and steam used for process heating, process reactions, and process evaporation, concentration, and drying creates about 52 percent of the country’s industrial direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

There is a significant opportunity to decarbonize the industrial sector by shifting heat production away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels to clean sources such as electrification where low- or zero-carbon electricity is used.

The Industrial Electrification Working Group was formed to provide input on the Electrifying U.S. Industry: A Technology- and Process-Based Approach to Decarbonization report. The working group consisted of industrial energy experts, including individuals from academia, government, research laboratories, nonprofits, and RTC member and sponsor companies. The Working Group provided input on the presentation of the technical analysis and the development of questions for the survey that informed the barriers and proposals section of the report, and also reviewed and offered comments on early drafts of the report.