Accelerating energy efficiency for a net zero future
Doubling energy efficiency improvements worldwide has the power to drastically reduce energy demand, enhance energy security, cut costs, and lower emissions.
At COP28, nearly 200 countries embraced the UAE Consensus, setting ambitious global energy goals:
- Achieving net zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050,
- Transitioning away from fossil fuels,
- Tripling renewable energy capacity,
- Doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030, and
- Accelerating the adoption of low-emission technologies.
However, despite these commitments, action is lagging. At COP29 in Baku, Alfa Laval urges nations to step up with bold and ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and to expedite support for implementing energy efficiency solutions.
As a global leader in technologies for sustainable solutions, Alfa Laval is driving change with an action-oriented approach to achieve a net zero future.
We’ve identified 15 proven actionable solutions that can be implemented today to make a real difference.
The solutions are here. It’s time to implement at scale.
Call for bold actions at COP29
With scalable solutions designed to transform vital industries, the time for action is now.
Partnerships and solutions in action
Recovering excess heat from data centers
The data center industry is predicted to grow at a very high pace the coming years due to AI and digitalization. The industry is a big consumer of electricity, where 90% of the energy ends up as waste heat. The reuse of excess heat can significantly impact carbon emissions, energy security and energy affordability.
Read more about heat recovery in data centers
Read more about WHR – Waste heat recovery
In action: Major data center, Odense, Denmark
Recovering excess heat from industries
Industries account for 30% of the world’s energy consumption. The waste heat generated amounts to over 2,800 TWh/y in EU alone, almost corresponding to EU’s total energy demand for heat and hot water in the residential and service sectors. Integrating industrial heat into district energy systems through sector coupling offers significant benefits, e.g. higher energy security, lower energy costs, and reduced carbon emissions.
Read more about waste heat recovery
In action: Kemira Kemi, Helsingborg, Sweden
In action: Aurubis Group, Hamburg, Germany
Recovering excess heat from light industries
Light industry often describes as a sector with lower absolute energy use than heavy industries, but this wide-ranging sector accounts for 8% of all industrial emissions. Waste heat recovery captures excess heat from processes and repurposes it for preheating materials, space heating, or even electricity generation, thereby reducing energy needs. High-efficiency heat pumps offer a sustainable alternative, providing both heating and cooling using less energy.
Read more about industrial heat pumps
In action: Alfa Laval, Lund, Sweden
Affordable heating made easy by heat pumps
Heat pumps powered by low-emission electricity are a central technology in the global transition to secure sustainable heating. Heat pumps meet around 10% of global space heating needs, but the pace of installation is growing rapidly. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that heat pumps have the potential to reduce global CO2 emissions by at least 500 million tonnes by 2030 – equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from all cars in Europe today.
Read more about industrial heat pumps
District cooling offloading grids with free cooling
Cities across the globe are expanding to accommodate growing populations, requiring energy services to be extended to new consumers. Increasing global temperatures due to climate change are leading to more frequent and intense heat waves, increasing the demand for cooling. District cooling offers a sustainable solution, providing efficient cooling with lower environmental impact compared to traditional air- conditioning systems by eg using free cooling from the sea or rivers.
Read more about district cooling
In action: City of Toronto, Canada
In action: City of Paris, France
Decarbonizing transportation with e-fuels
The carbon-intensive marine industry accounts for roughly 2% of global CO2 emissions: 858 million tonnes in 2022. In hard-to-abate sectors like the marine industry e-methanol is a liquid electrofuel produced from renewable hydrogen and captured CO2. When produced with renewable energy and biogenic CO2, e-methanol presents an opportunity to accelerate fossil-free propulsion in the marine industry, thereby cutting emissions.
Building the world’s largest hydrogen plant
In the global pursuit of net zero emissions, direct electrification is an obvious route for decarbonization. However, almost 50% of the energy needed cannot be electrified and other options need to be considered. Hydrogen is key in making decarbonization a reality. Clean hydrogen, and its derivatives, is estimated to account for up to 20% of the world’s energy demand by 2050. This will require hydrogen with different, low-carbon intensities. Today, over 1,500 projects are announced globally, but to scale production clean hydrogen needs to be cost competitive.
Enabling renewables by long duration energy storage
Tripling the use of renewable energy by 2030 depends on scaling short- and long- duration energy storage (LDES) capacity. LDES complements intermittent renewables, strengthens grid resilience, and reduces fossil fuel reliance. Now is the time to use flexible long-duration energy storage to achieve net carbon neutrality. The world’s electricity grids will need to deploy 8 TW of long duration energy storage.
Advancing efficiency in marine transportation
The carbon-intensive marine industry accounts for roughly 2% of global CO2 emissions: 858 million tonnes in 2022. Safety, fuel efficiency, and voyage costs can be optimized by using voyage optimization solutions that integrate advanced technology, weather intelligence, and industry- leading support for confident decision-making.
Read more about energy efficiency solution in the marine industry
In action: StormGeo, Norway
Energy efficiency in the food industry
According to the UN, we will need up to 70% more food to nourish the world by 2050. Light industry, such as the food industry, has a lower absolute energy use compared to heavy industry. However, this wide- ranging sector still accounts for 8% of emissions, with the global food system representing 30% of global emissions. Although the food industry relies on many energy-intensive processes, there are numerous opportunities to increase energy efficiency and thereby reduce carbon emissions. Energy savings also translate to cost savings, allowing businesses to achieve attractive returns on investments and short payback times.
Read more about sustainable food
In action: Chelsea Sugar, New Zealand
Energy efficiency to decarbonize industry
50% of today’s potential for energy savings comes from the industrial sector according to IEA, and increased energy efficiency could account for more than ⅓ of emission reduction in the next 25 years. Alfa Laval and ABB has founded Energy Efficiency Movement, a non-profit association with the aim to accelerate energy efficiency in the broad industry.
Read more about energy efficiency
Read more about Energy Efficiency Movement (EEM)
In action: Discover our sustainable impact across industries
2.5% CO2 emission reduction through services
Today, the industry sector accounts for about one-third of the global energy consumption. Since 2000, the industrial sector’s energy consumption has risen by almost 70%. Studies have shown that as much as 11% of the world’s total emissions could be saved through energy efficiency measures, with maintenance of heat exchangers being one of the main recommendations. Beside the emission reduction, machine downtime is costing manufacturers more than £180 billion each year.
Read more about service to optimize energy efficiency
In action: Boliden, Sweden
A strong demand for fossil-free steel
On average, every tonne of steel produced leads to the emission of 1.89 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Under the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario, total direct emissions from the iron and steel sector must be reduced by more than 50% by 2050. In 2021, Swedish steel company SSAB produced the world’s first fossil-free steel as a proof of concept using the HYBRIT® technology. This revolutionary steelmaking technology, which uses hydrogen- reduced sponge iron, eliminates the primary source of CO2 emissions by producing water as a byproduct instead of CO2.
Accelerating competitiveness through ambitious targets
Business has a critical role to play in driving down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and building the resilient, thriving zero- emissions economy we urgently need. Science-based targets show companies and financial institutions how much and how quickly they need to reduce their GHG emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) defines and promotes best practices for emission reductions and net zero targets in line with climate science. By the end of 2023, over 4,000 companies and financial institutions were setting emissions reduction targets and having them validated by the SBTi.
Accelerate sustainable solutions
Imagine a more sustainable world. A world where it takes less to produce even more. A world where we efficiently meet our growing energy demands and simultaneously reduce CO2 emissions. Imagine a world where we can harness the power of natural resources, while preserving them at the same time. At Alfa Laval, we don’t just imagine this world. We’re building it - together with our customers and our partners.
