For Immediate Release
January 12, 2024 9:00 am ET
Renewable Thermal Collaborative’s Quarterly Update on Industrial Decarbonization
New Members, New Research, New Projects
Washington, D.C. – The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC), the only global coalition focused exclusively on the decarbonization of thermal energy with renewable solutions, today shared its Quarterly Update on Industrial Decarbonization (QUID) for the fourth quarter of 2023. Highlights include: three new Members and two new Solutions Providers joined the Collaborative; we released two new research publications; we conducted three events, including the RTC Summit; and Members and Solutions Providers announced 10 new projects. These highlights represent some, but not all, of the progress being made towards the RTC objective of accelerating the pace of industrial decarbonization to meet critical climate targets.
“Our fourth annual RTC Summit in October was an incredible success, facilitating powerful conversations among our Members and Solutions Providers on topics critical to driving ongoing development and deployment of industrial decarbonization technologies,” remarked Blaine Collison, RTC Executive Director. “The momentum gained from the Summit and other fourth quarter activities will help drive continued progress in 2024.”
Highlights of the fourth quarter of 2023 include the following updates:
1) Three New Members and Two New Solutions Providers
With the addition of the following companies last quarter, the RTC includes 38 Members and 45 Solutions Providers in the United States and around the world. Members include global industrial and institutional energy buyers representing more than $3 trillion in market capitalization across a diverse range of industries, including chemical, food and beverage, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical. Solutions Providers are technology and solutions providers, advisors, developers and others working to accelerate the renewable thermal market.
New Members (https://www.renewablethermal.org/our-members/)
Heineken® is an international premium beer brand that is served in 192 countries around the world. To achieve their goals of reaching net zero by 2040, Heineken® is committed to protecting water resources, reducing CO2 emissions, and sourcing sustainably.
Keurig Dr. Pepper is a leading producer and distributor of hot and cold beverages. They are committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions while building climate resiliency. Their current 2030 emissions-reduction targets include obtaining 100 percent of electricity from renewable resources by 2025, reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030, and reducing Scope 3 emissions in select categories by 15 percent by 2030.
Stryker is a leading global medical technology company dedicated to offering innovative products and services in MedSurg, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes. They are committed to powering all facilities with 100 percent renewable electricity by 2027 and making them carbon neutral (Scopes 1 and 2) by 2030.
New Solutions Providers (https://www.renewablethermal.org/our-sponsors/)
GEA Heating & Refrigeration Technologies is a leading global provider of solutions for industrial heating and cooling applications. Its portfolio of components and packaged systems includes screw and reciprocating compressor packages, heat pumps, chillers, and custom-engineered systems.
Nyle Thermal, a subsidiary company of Nyle Systems, LLC, has over 40 years of experience in the industrial heat pump space. It manufactures industrial heat pumps in air to air, air to water, and water to water source configurations, ranging in capacities from 20-640kW.
2) Five New Publications and Events
The RTC collaborates with its Members and Solutions Providers to actively evaluate technologies and advocate for policies that can help accelerate significant decarbonization. The RTC focuses on the full-range of renewable energy technologies across all industrial, commercial and institutional applications. RTC released two new research publications and convened three events in the fourth quarter of 2023:
Publications (https://www.renewablethermal.org/category/publications/)
Justice40 Opportunity Assessment: This analysis outlines how many and which RTC Member facilities may be eligible for support from programs covered by the Justice40 initiative based on their location, mapping facilities across the United States, and how they intersect with commonly used geographic definitions of historic marginalization. This assessment highlighted the opportunity for the RTC to help connect Members with the policy supports available and simultaneously advance company sustainability goals, national emissions targets, and justice objectives.
Thermal Batteries: Opportunities to Accelerate Decarbonization of Industrial Heating: The RTC developed this report in partnership with The Brattle Group to better understand the potential benefits of and barriers to the use of thermal batteries for decarbonization. The report outlines cases where thermal batteries will be most cost-competitive for industrial companies and makes recommendations for policymakers and electricity market operators to further unlock the technology by addressing regulatory barriers.
RTC Summit 2023: The fourth annual summit facilitated connections among a record number of attendees from large thermal energy buyers, renewable thermal technology developers and suppliers, financiers and investors, government officials, and other renewable thermal stakeholders from across the country and the world. Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL) delivered the keynote address.
Expert Webinar: Thermal Batteries: Opportunities to Accelerate Decarbonization of Industrial Heat: The RTC shared the findings from its Thermal Batteries: Opportunities to Accelerate Decarbonization of Industrial Heat report. Speakers included representatives from RTC, Brattle Group, C2ES, Antora Energy, Brenmiller, Eastman, Electrified Thermal Solutions and Rondo Energy.
Webinar with the LDES Council: Bringing the Heat for Net Zero Industry: The webinar focused on the findings of the RTC’s Thermal Batteries: Opportunities to Accelerate Decarbonization of Industrial Heat report and the LDES Council’s report that evaluated the global market for thermal energy storage and how it can contribute to eliminating emissions across key industrial sectors.
3) Ten New Member & Solutions Provider Projects
The RTC is the only place where large thermal energy users come together collaboratively with innovative solutions providers to understand the problems in the market, learn from each other, and overcome the barriers to renewable heating and cooling. The following projects by RTC Members and Solutions Providers further demonstrate continued engagement in expanding industrial decarbonization projects and programs worldwide:
Member Projects
Colgate-Palmolive: RTC Member Colgate-Palmolive signed a 20-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for a 209-MW solar energy farm outside of Waco, Texas. The new Markum Solar Farm will produce enough electricity to fully cover the company’s U.S. operational electricity demand. Beginning in 2025, this VPPA will help Colgate-Palmolive achieve its goals of using 100 percent renewable electricity globally by 2030 and reaching net zero throughout its operations and supply chain by 2040.
Lactalis: RTC Member Lactalis partnered with Newheat to launch Europe’s largest solar thermal power plant in Verdun, France. The 15,000 square meter installation will generate 8,000 MWh of renewable heat annually to preheat air for dehydration equipment used for whey powder production, decreasing the use of natural gas boilers. The project marks a significant step towards wider adoption of solar thermal technology in the industrial sector.
Saint-Gobain: RTC Member Saint-Gobain signed a 15-year renewable electricity supply agreement (PPA) with TotalEnergies to purchase solar power for its 125 North American industrial sites. This 100 MW PPA will reduce Saint-Gobain’s yearly North American emissions from electricity by 90,000 metric tons when it comes online by the end of 2024. The project was supported by RTC Solutions Provider Edison Energy, a leading energy and sustainability advisory firm.
Steel Dynamics: RTC Member Steel Dynamics, Inc. signed an agreement with Mercedes-Benz to provide more than 50,000 tonnes of CO2-reduced steel annually for its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The steel will be made using an electric arc furnace (EAF) supplied by 100 percent renewable electricity.
Solutions Provider Projects
Antora Energy: RTC Solutions Provider Antora Energy established its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. The facility will produce Antora’s proprietary thermal battery technology, which stores renewable energy in the form of heat for use on demand in industrial facilities. The new manufacturing plant will produce up to 100 MWh of thermal storage capacity per year, enough to supply the needs of a variety of industrial applications.
Archaea Energy: RTC Solutions Provider Archaea Energy brought online a first-of-its-kind modular renewable natural gas (RNG) plant in Medora, Indiana. The plant can process 3,200 cubic feet of landfill gas per minute into RNG.
Brenmiller: RTC Solutions Provider Brenmiller announced a new partnership with Tempo Beverages, one of Israel’s largest drink producers, to replace the company’s fossil fuel boilers with a thermal energy storage (TES) system. This system will turn solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity and off-peak grid power into on-demand sustainable process steam, eliminating the use of approximately 2,000 tons of heavy fuel oil annually and mitigating over 6,200 tons of carbon emissions each year. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
Intersect Power: RTC Solutions Provider Intersect Power successfully launched its Oberon Solar + Storage project. In line with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the project prioritizes American-made equipment and skilled union labor, creating over 930 jobs during peak construction. The project will provide clean electricity to a diverse group of offtakers, including Calpine Energy Solutions, Constellation, Ava Community Energy, Microsoft, and San Diego Community Power.
Skyven: RTC Solutions Provider Skyven Technologies installed solar thermal, smart steam traps, and boiler heat recovery systems at two California Dairies, Inc. (CDI) facilities. This innovative integration helps CDI achieve its carbon neutrality goals and reduce emissions from its dairy processing operations. The project also represents a first-of-its-kind financial structure that leverages grant funding, utility incentive funding, third-party project finance, and investment.
TC Energy & NovoHydrogen: RTC Solutions Providers TC Energy and NovoHydrogen were selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program. TC Energy will contribute to the development of the Appalachian and Heartland Hydrogen Hubs, which will each receive over $900 million.
NovoHydrogen was selected to begin award negotiations as part of the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub, which has been granted up to $1 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding.
###
About the Renewable Thermal Collaborative
The Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) is a global coalition of companies, institutions and governments committed to decarbonizing their operations by scaling up renewable heating and cooling technologies at their facilities. The RTC collaborates with its Members and Solutions Providers to accelerate industrial decarbonization by addressing and identifying ways to overcome the technology, policy and market challenges that large thermal energy users face. Learn more at www.renewablethermal.org.
