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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Stefan Vögele

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Guest Editor

Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Energy and Climate Research—Systems Analysis and Technology Evaluation (IEK-STE), D-52425 Jülich, Germany
Interests: energy economics; energy scenarios; storylines; technological change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, energy-intensive industries have been faced with many challenges: Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials and fuels, international financial crises, changes in trade policies, and agreements on ambitious GHG reduction targets are some examples of such challenges. In particular, the GHG reduction target set in Paris will shape the development of energy intensive industries in future years.
It could be expected that “business as usual” would not be possible. On a technological level, there will be a call for radical innovations. On the other side, increasing competition in international markets, policy measures (e.g., aiming to avoid job losses or carbon leakage) as well changes in lifestyle will frame the future of energy-intensive industries.
Taking the links between developments on social, economic, and technical level as well as uncertainties into consideration, there is a need for scenarios focusing on possible pathways for energy-intensive sectors (such as iron and steel, nonferrous metals, cement, basic chemicals, as well as pulp and paper). To assess possible futures of energy intensive industries, this Special Issue, entitled “Sociotechnical Scenarios for Energy-Intensive Industries”, was proposed for the international journal Energies, which is an SSCI and SCIE journal. This Special Issue mainly covers original research and studies related to the abovementioned topic, including research on case studies in individual industries and on the energy-intensive industry as part of the overall economy. We will welcome contributions from different disciplines provided they do not focus only on technological aspects.
Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.
I am writing to invite you to submit your original work to this Special Issue. I look forward to receiving your outstanding research.

Dr. Stefan Vögele
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Sociotechnical scenarios;
Energy-intensive industry;
Policy;
Measures;
Competition;
Iron-and steel;
Nonferrous metals;
Cement;
Basic chemicals;
Pulp and paper.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2284 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Carbon Dioxide Uptake in the Roadmap 2050 of the Spanish Cement Industry

by Miguel Angel Sanjuán, Cristina Argiz, Pedro Mora and Aniceto Zaragoza

Energies 2020, 13(13), 3452; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13133452 - 03 Jul 2020

Cited by 51 | Viewed by 4981

Abstract

The European Green Deal and its endeavors will make rapid and far-reaching decisions with major implications for the European cement industry in the short- and longer-term. Accordingly, new measures should be dealt with quickly and effectively to minimize the adverse impact on global warming and global climate change by this sector. The aim of this study is to show and assess the measures to be undertaken to reach carbon neutrality by the Spanish cement industry by 2050. They may be categorized into three broad types based on the main materials: clinker, cement, and concrete. The cement sector must implement breakthrough initiatives, inventions, and technologies regarding the clinker and cement production processes. Furthermore, carbon dioxide uptake by cement-based materials must be considered to achieve the carbon neutrality objective. Accordingly, two methodologies named simplified and advanced, consistent with Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories elaborated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), were selected to model the carbon offsetting by mortars and concretes. Finally, the existing climate change mitigation technologies available in Spain are insufficient to reach the net zero carbon footprint. Therefore, breakthrough technologies such as novel and efficient carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies should be implemented by the Spanish cement industry to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions in 2050. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socio-Technical Scenarios for Energy-Intensive Industries)

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Graphical abstract

Review

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34 pages, 1962 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

The UK and German Low-Carbon Industry Transitions from a Sectoral Innovation and System Failures Perspective

by Konstantinos Koasidis, Alexandros Nikas, Hera Neofytou, Anastasios Karamaneas, Ajay Gambhir, Jakob Wachsmuth and Haris Doukas

Energies 2020, 13(19), 4994; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13194994 - 23 Sep 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4898

Abstract

Industrial processes are associated with high amounts of energy consumed and greenhouse gases emitted, stressing the urgent need for low-carbon sectoral transitions. This research reviews the energy-intensive iron and steel, cement and chemicals industries of Germany and the United Kingdom, two major emitting countries with significant activity, yet with different recent orientation. Our socio-technical analysis, based on the Sectoral Innovation Systems and the Systems Failure framework, aims to capture existing and potential drivers of or barriers to diffusion of sustainable industrial technologies and extract implications for policy. Results indicate that actor structures and inconsistent policies have limited low-carbon innovation. A critical factor for the successful decarbonisation of German industry lies in overcoming lobbying and resistance to technological innovation caused by strong networks. By contrast, a key to UK industrial decarbonisation is to drive innovation and investment in the context of an industry in decline and in light of Brexit-related uncertainty. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Socio-Technical Scenarios for Energy-Intensive Industries)

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