Industrial Energy Symbiosis

Dear Colleagues,

Within the framework of the industrial symbiosis, the industrial energy symbiosis considers the sharing of energy-related resources, facilities, and infrastructures as an effective model to promote energy conservation measures. It also reduces dependence on fossil fuels and enables renewable energy sources uptake at the industrial level. It encompasses a multi-dimensional mix of sustainable and innovative technical solutions as well as organizational strategies to implement inter-firm energy exchanges, joint projects for energy efficiency, and for collective power generation, aiming at reducing the energy-related carbon footprint of industry and supporting circular economy approaches.

In addition, an improved low-carbon strategy can be achieved by creating energy synergies between industrial districts and the adjacent urban areas. Establishing an urban-industrial energy symbiosis allows the optimization of energy production and consumption and the utilization of local knowhow and human resources.

With the exception of a few literature reviews, existing literature mainly focuses on material flows, while the energy theme is frequently ancillary. Some case studies considering energy synergies have been explored, but a focused and comprehensive view on the industrial energy symbiosis is still missing.

So this Special Issue aims to provide a cross-disciplinary debate focusing on technical, economic, organizational, regulatory, environmental, and social drivers and barriers of the energy symbiosis approach, including but not limited to the following topics:

• Modelling industrial and urban-industrial energy symbiosis, including renewable energy sources
• Distributed generation applied to industrial and urban-industrial energy symbiosis: modelling and evaluation of different technological and organizational strategies
• Methods for the sustainability assessment of industrial energy symbiosis schemes
• Methods for industrial energy symbiosis indicators calculation and validation
• Models for distributing and allocating energy exchanges in an industrial symbiosis network
• Policy and regulatory schemes enabling industrial and urban-industrial energy symbiosis
• Modelling platforms enabling the collection and exchange of information regarding energy flow
• Energy security, risk management and resilience in the industrial energy symbiosis approach

References:

• Maes T, Van Eetvelde G, De Ras E, Block C, Pisman A, Verhofstede B, et al. Energy management on industrial parks in Flanders. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 2011;15:1988–2005. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2010.11.053.
• Kastner CA, Lau R, Kraft M. Quantitative tools for cultivating symbiosis in industrial parks; a literature review. Appl Energy 2015;155:599–612. doi:10.1016/J.APENERGY.2015.05.037
• Karner K, Theissing M, Kienberger T. Energy efficiency for industries through synergies with urban areas. J Clean Prod 2016;119:167–77. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.010.
• Afshari H, Jaber MY, Searcy C. Extending industrial symbiosis to residential buildings: A mathematical model and case study. J Clean Prod 2018;183:370–9. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.148.
• Le Tellier M, Berrah L, Stutz B, Audy JF, Barnabé S. Towards sustainable business parks: A literature review and a systemic model. J Clean Prod 2019;216:129–38. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.145.

Prof. Dr. Rita Gamberini
Dr. Maria Angela Butturi
Guest Editors

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• industrial symbiosis
• eco-industrial parks
• urban-industrial symbiosis
• distributed generation
• energy efficiency
• renewable energy
• carbon emissions reduction
• sustainability
• circular economy
• energy security
• resilience