Long considered “hard-to-abate,” the industrial sector has often been overlooked. Most decarbonization efforts have instead focused on the buildings, transportation, and power sectors. Recent federal and state policies suggest momentum is building for industrial decarbonization, but these measures—like other climate reforms—face political headwinds. Growing interest in near-term action is refocusing attention on what can be done today to cut pollution. Electrification of U.S. manufacturing offers a practical path forward.

In this roadmap, we outline a new approach to understanding electrification of low- and medium-temperature (LMT) process heat in manufacturing. Drawing on a growing body of industrial decarbonization research, we develop tools for policymakers, facility managers, and other stakeholders to plan and implement a cost-effective, clean transition with commercial-ready technologies. We identify states, processes, and policy solutions that can accelerate deployment, based on our rigorous engineering analysis of the U.S. chemicals, pulp & paper, and food & beverage manufacturing sectors.

Nathan Mariano, Olivia Quinn, Antoine Merlo, Aidan O’Neil, Eleanor Thomas, Jason Ye, Madeline Ranalli, Carrie Fernandes, Lucas Boyd

Principal Investigators: Eric Masanet and Leah C. Stokes