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Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : This study explores the eco-design of industrial processes, highlighting the different approaches and levels of application of this approach. Its main objective is to detail the current state of available methods for mitigating the impact of industrial sites and their manufacturing processes.

Conducted by the Eco-design cluster, the study draws on the sector's expertise, discussions with manufacturers committed to environmental practices, and consultation of scientific articles.

Eco-design is an approach that aims to reduce the environmental impact of a system (product, service, organisation) throughout its life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to the end of its life.

Although ecodesign has historically been associated with a product-centred approach ("product approach"), it can also be applied to a company as a whole, taking into account all its products, services and processes. This is known as the organisational approach, which takes a holistic view of environmental impacts. This approach can be implemented through the creation of an Environmental Management System (EMS).

The choice of the most appropriate approach must be based on a phase of assessment and identification of the environmental issues relating specifically to the site's industrial activities. Once this assessment phase has been completed, and in order to make it easier to take account of environmental issues, companies can then opt for one of the two approaches.

Areas of expertise : Decarbonisation at a glance

Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : The electricity grid requires a constant, real-time balance between production and consumption to ensure good power quality and avoid the risk of blackouts. Load shedding, or demand response, involves reducing the electricity consumption of electricity consumers for a defined period in response to an external signal. 

Industrial load shedding relies on the consumption of industrial sites to provide flexibility to the grid. It is part of a favourable context, driven by the ever-increasing need to balance the grid and the massive electrification of industry, which will increase the pool of available load shedding. Demand response also makes it possible to reduce the carbon intensity of electricity by limiting the need to activate peak production resources.

In 2018, France has set ambitious targets for the development of industrial load shedding: 6.5 GW of load shedding capacity by 2028, with a milestone of 4.5 GW in 2023. However by 2023, the sector is lagging these targets, and the outlook is for a slowdown in the growth of industrial load shedding and an acceleration in the other sectors.

Given the gap between the ambition and the actual development of the industrial load shedding sector, this study aims to detail the operational implementation of demand response by industrial typology, identify the main barriers to uptake and propose solution levers to achieve the reduction targets and trajectories set by the PPE and RTE.

• To achieve these objectives, the study first recalls the industrial load reduction estimated by the ADEME in 2017 and estimates the additional source provided by the electrification of processes, based on a previous ALLICE study.
• The study then details the maturity of each industrial sector based on several comparative criteria: the current use of technical resources, the achievable technical resources and the economic constraints.
• Finally, the study relied on concrete feedback from around fifteen industrial sectors to identify the barriers to the development of load shedding and to propose levers that would allow industry to make its active contribution to balancing the electricity system and thus facilitate its decarbonization.

So far, three groups of industrial sectors have emerged in terms of their maturity and participation in load shedding:

• One group in which load shedding has been fully implemented (e.g. metallurgy),
• Another group in which load shedding has been implemented despite economic and technical obstacles (e.g. chemicals, food processing),
• And a final group of sectors in which load shedding has been implemented only to a limited extent, or not at all (e.g. plastics processing)

In view of these findings, the study makes 7 recommendations aimed at load shedding professionals - both aggregators and network operators - as well as manufacturers, in order to improve the technical and economic conditions of the market and increase the pool of industrial flexibility available in France.

Areas of expertise : Integration of alternative energies

Activity : Veille

Description :

Areas of expertise : Energy Efficiency

Activity : Veille

Description :

Areas of expertise : Business models and financing

Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : The rational use of energy, already a significant concern in the context of energy transition for climate change mitigation, has also become a major geopolitical issue in recent years.

Amongst the main technologies that enable energy conservation by harnessing waste heat from processes, combined heat and power (“CHP”) and trigeneration systems simultaneously produce electricity, heat, cooling, or mechanical energy.

The objective of this ALLICE report is to explore the opportunities to improve the performance of waste heat recovery systems, focusing on these technologies (ORC, thermally driven compression cooling, and heating), and to conduct investigations on associated financing solutions.

Areas of expertise : Energy Efficiency

Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : Decarbonising industry means transforming current business models into more sustainable ones. A business model is an economic concept that encompasses all of a company's activities, its value creation and its relationships with its stakeholders, from suppliers to customers.

Current business models are mainly based on a traditional linear logic along their value chain: extraction of resources, production of material goods, consumption and end of life. This raises the question of how to transform industrial business models if we are to achieve our carbon neutrality objectives.

There are many examples of companies (both industrial and non-industrial) that have already changed their business model in response to technological, regulatory or market developments.
In particular, the transition to a decarbonising business model involves implementing a corporate strategy that both generates profits and contributes to climate change mitigation.

The aim of this study is to identify decarbonisation business models and to assess their benefits and applicability in industry.

The study was organised into 4 analysis phases:

• Mapping of business models

Definition of the decarbonisation business model concept using the Business Model Canvas representation

• Identification and characterisation of decarbonisation business models

In-depth analysis of the challenges of a selection of business models

• Selection of three business models to be further explored according to their relevance for ALLICE members

Analysis based on existing literature and interviews with manufacturers who have implemented a new model

• Development of recommendations for members

Areas of expertise : Business models and financing

Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : The industrial sector accounts for approximately 20% of French energy consumption. Most of this energy consumed, i.e. 435 TWh according to INSEE in 2018, is transformed into heat, with massive losses in its use. As well as being at the heart of the decarbonisation challenge, the issue of waste heat is also proving to be a real lever for industrial competitiveness, against a backdrop of structurally rising energy prices.

To carry out this study, the method chosen was to rely on feedback from the field, to get as close as possible to the people who operate the facilities, design them and make the operational decisions about the relevance of the projects. Around fifteen interviews were conducted with manufacturers, design offices and trade unions.

This report is divided into 3 parts:

• The first part of this report summarises the numerous publications on the subject of waste heat since 2017,
• The second part presents feedback from waste heat recovery projects identified during the study, some of which were the subject of a site visit.
• The final section sets out the recommendations arising from the interviews, site visits, the experience of the authors and the discussions and exchanges that took place during the course of the study

Finally, this study puts forward a number of recommendations based on three major themes, a summary of which is presented in the executive summary.

Areas of expertise : Decarbonisation at a glance

Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : Companies are seeking to reduce their environmental impact, in particular by cutting their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This drive is supported by the objectives
set by France as part of the National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC), of -81% of GHG emissions for the industrial sector. One of the main levers for action is work on manufacturing processes.

This study focuses on the decarbonisation of drying and baking processes, for which three types of solution are being studied: energy efficiency, electrification and renewable and recovered energy.

The aim of the study is to examine the application of these different decarbonisation solutions in three application cases and to compare the results up to 2050 from an energy, economic and environmental point of view.

The applications studied are the drying and firing of roof tiles, the drying and polymerisation of a powder paint line, and the kilning of barley malt.

The study shows that all these solutions offer significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. To go further in reducing GHG emissions linked to certain processes or in certain specific cases, CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage) solutions may prove necessary.

Areas of expertise : Decarbonisation at a glance

Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : Digital technology offers many opportunities to improve industrial competitiveness, particularly in terms of energy efficiency. In this context, ALLICE previous study on the benefits of Big Data Analytics highlighted the advantages that industrial maintenance services can draw from it, particularly through predictive maintenance.

By monitoring degradations, predictive maintenance allows to optimize the functioning of industrial installations and consequently to improve their energy performance.

This state of art is divided in three parts :

• Maintenance objectives
• Maintenance terminologies
• Implementation of predictive maintenance

Areas of expertise : Digital transition

Activity : Études pour les adhérents

Description : The objective of the study is to detail the current state-of-the-art of ventilation solutions, with emphasis on the energy performance of the systems. This study focuses on the industry, in particular the industrial premises in which are present manufacturing processes likely to emit specific pollutants.

The main function of a ventilation system is to ensure the sanitation of working environments and the treatment of pollutants emitted before they are released into the atmosphere, in compliance
with the regulations. A ventilation system is made up of different components which generate a significant energy consumption for the industry.

The review of the abundant existing literature on ventilation has shown that this sanitation function is dealt with through best practice guides and rules of the art. Conversely, few works
specifically concern the energy efficiency of ventilation systems.

Therefore, the present state-of-the-art aims at reviewing each component of a ventilation system from an energy efficiency point of view: the collection device, the transport network, the depollution device, the regulation and finally the fan.

Areas of expertise : Energy Efficiency