Background

Decarbonising energy-intensive heavy industries have historically been a ‘blind spot’ in the clean energy debate. However, in 2021, growing attention is being paid to this important sector, such as through the Clean Energy Ministerial, Mission Innovation and the Leadership Group for Industry Transitions. These initiatives are bringing together countries and industry stakeholders to address the key decarbonisation challenges in a range of industrial sub-sectors, such as cement, iron and steel, and chemicals. In addition to technical barriers, such as achieving the required high temperatures for many industrial processes, well-known commercial barriers include the capital costs for low carbon technologies (such as fuel-switching to clean hydrogen or renewable electricity, carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS), digitalisation and deep energy efficiency, industrial symbiosis and circular economy approaches), and the need for effective policy enabling environments and cross-border frameworks for stimulating regional and global demand for low carbon industrial products.

Recent analysis indicates that direct emissions from industry could be 28% lower in 2050 if industrial decarbonisation is supported in developing countries. This workshop focuses specifically on middle-income and low-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region, where the industry was responsible for almost 4 MtCO2 in 2018 and accounts for a large and increasing share of global energy demand (43% in 2017). The discussions will centre on the role that innovation can play to address commercial barriers, such as in developing effective markets for low carbon industrial products and in creating innovative financing products that facilitate the uptake of technologies to decarbonise industrial processes.