Decarbonising UK Ceramic Manufacturing Roadmap - Technical Appendix
This webpage supports the Decarbonising UK Ceramic Manufacturing Industry Roadmap.
Overview
Ceramics are used in many critical roles and applications across society. Their manufacture is one of, if not perhaps the hardest of industry processes to decarbonise, with the sector facing unique challenges against a backdrop of uncertainties in key areas outside its control. Nevertheless, ceramic producers’ continued investment and ongoing research into decarbonisation is testament to the industry’s commitment in tackling climate change and to a sustainable future.
The Sector’s Decarbonisation Roadmap, developed with close engagement of companies across the UK ceramics industry, demonstrates our ambitious vision for accelerating the roll-out of decarbonisation technologies over the coming decades, and shows:
- WHAT … low-carbon ceramic manufacturing would look like
- HOW … the various, contingent, enabling mechanisms and limiting factors to be addressed
- WHEN … an indicative timeline of key developments to enable progress
- WHY … as well as decarbonising production, the case for further support in enabling the global net zero transition, and importance to society as a whole.
The Roadmap is an illustration of the UK ceramic sector’s maximum potential emissions reductions, albeit contingent on a supportive decarbonisation landscape. Deeper decarbonisation of UK ceramic manufacturing requires the urgent development and deployment of a variety of breakthrough technologies (including low-carbon hydrogen, electrification, bio-energy and carbon capture), in locations outside of industrial clusters. It also shows the broad-ranging challenges to decarbonising ceramic production; with numerous, dispersed (non-clustered) sites, most of relatively small (and dilute) emissions, diverse products, and a significant proportion of process emissions.
Currently we project that, at a sector-level, achieving ‘net zero’ emissions would not be directly-attainable. To reach this milestone will require mitigation measures of residual emissions (such as carbon-offsetting mechanisms) and a more holistic consideration of carbon neutrality across the lifecycle / value-chain of products.
Fundamentally the breadth of change, research and uptake needed by the sector underscores a need to move at continued pace and scale over these coming decades. With the sector’s long investment cycles and operational lifespan of key assets, and need for transition planning, urgent clarity on key decision-making areas - particularly alternative fuels (hydrogen / electrification) - is key to expand the implementation window for companies. We continue to explore with Government and other stakeholders how net zero ceramics is delivered in the UK.
Net zero emissions, not zero UK ceramics industry
Ceramic production is energy-intensive, with the shaping of raw materials and firing at high temperatures (typically above 1,000 °C) to form products and unique durability, mechanical, thermal, electrical, and biochemical properties; vital to their functions/applications.
Energy and climate costs are typically 30 - 50% of production costs so goods are manufactured as efficiently as possible, with dryers and kilns requiring significant capital investment, being recouped over long periods of operation.
There is a clear imperative for tackling climate change as the UK, with ongoing drivers to deliver net zero emissions set by the UK Government. The requirements and costs placed on UK ceramic producers, however, amount to ever-growing obstacles to a level playing field for UK producers. Companies operate in fiercely-competitive global markets versus overseas competition with lower production costs and / or drivers to decarbonise (particularly in countries with less climate aspiration), and without the same substantial financial outlay by UK ceramic producers in emerging decarbonisation technologies.
The cumulative cost differential being shouldered by the UK ceramic sector cannot be passed-on unilaterally to customers without impacting competitiveness, with the sector recognised as being at significant risk of carbon, investment, and job leakage. UK Ceramics should not lose its competitiveness in the face of its requirements to deliver against more stringent emissions targets; particularly where external factors to decarbonisation also hinder potential deliverability.
Summary of Industry Needs
See ‘Enabling Industry Decarbonisation’
UK ceramics producers are well-placed to continue to invest in decarbonisation but face a number of key obstacles and challenges:
ENERGY AVAILABILITY - Companies need access to dependable energy supplies for their operations.
On electricity supplies (for on-site power generation or process electrification) the sector requires:
- Grid connections - fast-track measures to allow companies to increase the capacity of grid connections, to support both electrification of industrial processes and investment in renewable power generation.
- On-site infrastructure - As well as facing an inevitable upturn in network costs to support grid infrastructure and connections, ceramic producers will face significant capital costs in upgrading on-site electricity infrastructure (sub-stations, LV distribution panels, cabling, containment etc.) where opportunities / measures to support investments will be needed.
- Supply security - changes to low-carbon electricity generation across the national grid must ensure that security of energy supplies are maintained.
- Grid infrastructure - network infrastructure capacity expansions must match the substantial societal demand requirements in future.
For firing with other alternative fuels, the sector requires:
- Hydrogen - projected will account for ~60% of fuel-switching emissions reductions, the distribution to / use of hydrogen at the sector’s dispersed sites is crucial to the future of UK ceramic manufacturing. As a particularly hard-to-abate sector, ceramics should be categorised as a ‘priority use’ application.
- Bio-energy - there should be access to available feedstock to support site-specific uses, given anticipated limited uptake by companies in the ceramic sector (including with potential bio-energy with carbon capture applications).
COST OF ENERGY- internationally-competitive energy supplies (throughout the net zero transition) will be crucial to ensuring UK ceramic producers are not disadvantaged. This requires:
- Electricity - significant steps to reduce electricity costs for UK ceramics producers are urgently needed (both through non-commodity cost support and structural market changes) to address financial barriers for electrification as well as for competitiveness of the sector.
Low-carbon electricity supplies must be cost-competitive versus overseas competitors. This is a significant issue for the vast majority of UK ceramic producers. Whilst some of this is due to structural differences in the electricity market, fundamentally very limited support is provided to the sector through Government’s energy-intensive industries support schemes. With rising costs (and redistributive impacts) review of UK eligibility for support on electricity policy costs is essential.
- Natural gas (transitioning to alternative fuels) - we recognise the need to shift to lower-carbon fuels such as green hydrogen, electrification and bio-energy. In the fuel-switching transition, exemptions from any emerging taxes / levies (on natural gas) will be critical, recognising that until alternative, commercially-viable energy sources are available, re-balancing costs towards natural gas would simply significantly increase carbon, investment and jobs leakage risks in the UK ceramics sector.
CLIMATE-RELATED COSTS AND DRIVERS - carbon emission costs are growing in prevalence and risk further-widening the cumulative cost disparity versus overseas producers:
- Carbon costs, predominantly through the UK ETS, must be internationally-competitive, with carbon leakage mitigations giving a level playing field with overseas producers, and must be aligned to the industry’s decarbonisation deliverability.
- Low-carbon products - strong mitigations are needed against carbon leakage risks and a level playing field for UK ceramic manufacturers and their supply chains.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT - R&D is needed over many future decarbonisation solutions and particular areas where support is needed are:
- Process emissions - new ways are needed to address process emissions, either through product adaptation, material substitution or carbon mineralisation/removal.
- Electrification - of larger-scale production processes.
- CCUS - support is needed for the development of commercially-viable carbon-capture abatement specifically for smaller-scale, dilute emission sources, which otherwise will not be commercially viable.
DEPLOYMENT/IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT - Although energy-intensive, the industry is comprised predominantly of small-/ medium-sized companies (and also small / medium industrial energy consumers) with limited resources or access to private funding.
Funding opportunities are crucial to support ongoing uptake of proven technologies which may not yet be economically- or commercially-viable:
- SME grants / interest-free loans - to support roll-out by small-/ medium-sized companies in the ceramic sector, without complex bureaucratic application or bidding processes.
- Funding support - particularly for investments with high capital cost, higher-risk and longer payback periods / rates of return.
- Electricity - upgrades to associated on-site electricity infrastructure will require considerable capital investment and major disruptions to site electricity supplies. Network connection cost support will be a key area.
- Carbon-capture - funding to help support commercial viability / deployment of carbon-capture technologies at specific sites, given high-capital investment requirements and operational costs.
Decarbonisation Technologies
See ‘Technology Contributions’ chart
EFFICIENCY MEASURES
Energy-efficiency is a longstanding principle adopted by the sector, by virtue of the significance of energy to ceramic production costs. Nevertheless, continuous developments, and uptake by sites at different stages of investment cycles, means that efficiency improvements will be the largest contributor to more-immediate decarbonisation of the sector.
Whilst full-scale significant investments in state-of-the-art technologies deliver step-changes to operational plant efficiency (which there are a number of examples already in the industry) there are also many wide-ranging other incremental measures which can help to improve efficiency (such as improved automation and process control, monitoring, maintenance) and recovery heat from the process for use, such as in product drying stages. The key is access to finances and funding support for many companies, particularly SMEs.
ON-SITE POWER GENERATION
There are many companies who have either invested in on-site renewable generation to support operations, hold Power Purchase Agreements with off-site generators, or procure certified renewable energy (which presently accounts for around 67% of sector electricity consumption).
Others want to invest in renewable generation but face considerable delays due to insufficient network capacity to support excess electricity export capability from sites. There remains further potential for self-generation of electricity in the sector, assuming grid constraints are resolved.
ELECTRICITY NETWORK DECARBONISATION
Government electricity network reforms are already driving electricity grid decarbonisation towards Government’s target for a decarbonised grid by 2035. Future costs of (decarbonised) electricity will be an important factor in ensuring international competitiveness is not even further undermined, or present additional barriers to potential electrification of firing (through costs and security of supply issues).
HYDROGEN
Roadmap modelling projects that hydrogen will be indispensable to the UK ceramic sector … by far the largest overall decarbonisation contributor. The distribution and use of hydrogen by the industry (at its dispersed sites) is crucial to the future of UK ceramic manufacturing. As a hard-to-abate application, ceramics should be a ‘priority use’ application.
With the predominant fuel currently used for firing being natural gas, it is seen as the principal future alternative, particularly at larger ceramic installations (where there will be no viable alternatives).
The development of the hydrogen supply chain and market, including infrastructure and supply distribution, is crucial to underpin its commercial adoption by companies. Whilst initially roll-out may be focussed around industrial clusters, expansion of the network to dispersed areas is envisaged and would lead to a step change in roll-out. Individual companies may also explore self-production of green hydrogen (with renewable power).
As a precursor to this, viability of firing with hydrogen is being assessed (as an alternative for natural gas-fired kilns) with trials across the UK ceramic sector taking place. A number of small scale projects / activities (by both consortium groups and individual companies) are underway to-date, ranging from 20% hydrogen : 80% natural gas blends, through to 100% hydrogen-only supplies.
ELECTRIFICATION
Electrification is seen as a key ceramic fuel-switching technology and is already available … albeit only for relatively ‘small-scale’ production (where technology exists and is commercially-viable).
Coupled with the move to low- / zero-carbon electricity, the broadening of electrification to larger production volumes (typically associated with larger emissions) is crucial to begin to have a tangible contribution to carbon emissions reductions in the sector. However, a culmination of significant techno-economic / innovation challenges / constraints have (and continue to) prevent electrification from developing further, restricting broader potential uptake in the sector.
A decision to fully shift to electrification for firing would be extremely-significant and challenging for all companies to make. As well as off- and on-site infrastructure considerations, companies would face many risks, uncertainties and disruptions, planning considerations, considerable capital investment (over longer payback periods) and much-higher running costs once operational.
We envisage there being no scenario where electrification could encompass all ceramic production sites or products, but immediate enabling interventions are necessary to begin to drive a holistic change across both electricity network infrastructure, electricity costs and R&D for the firing process and materials.
Radical re-design of kilns and processes is needed for larger-scale production, and as a process:
- it will not create the same air movement as gas firing
- heat transfer to products, thermal uniformity and consistency of firing will drastically differ
- oxygen-reducing / flash conditions cannot be created, which will limit product applicability.
Commercial adoption would depend on competitiveness of electricity costs versus alternative fuels. Progress in the necessary R&D (to-date) is restricted, even in countries with much lower industrial electricity prices, due to the firing cost differential versus more-conventional production methods.
Logistically, electrification requires other adaptations, including up-scaling of grid connection capacity (at significant cost and disruption to site electricity supplies), and on-site upgrades to associated infrastructure (which again will incur significant expenditure and disruption). Process switching from gas firing would effectively mean a plant re-build in its entirety (retro-fit to existing plant will not be possible) with a cessation of production for prolonged periods of time.
BIO-ENERGY
As with other firing methods, a prerequisite to adopting bio-energy is the availability of fuel supplies. Use of bio-energy for firing may have limited uptake in the sector; particularly given the limited availability of suitable feedstock and Government intentions to focus its use towards ‘prioritised applications’. Nevertheless, its use in certain circumstances is envisaged and some companies are already exploring the feasibility of bio-energy at production sites.
CARBON CAPTURE
There are cutting-edge, emerging technologies to capture carbon emissions:
- storing them to prevent atmospheric release - Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
- conversion into a useable product - Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU)
- bio-energy use and storing emissions - Bio-energy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCs).
Carbon capture technologies are novel, complex, in their relative infancy for industrial applications, and at present their deployment is envisaged at the largest of power generation and industrial sites (such as steel or cement works). It is extortionately expensive, benefiting from economies of scale for larger / clustered emission sources; and this is where R&D and engagement by technology providers, funding availability, as well as commercial opportunities are currently focussed. Even where abatement is implemented it would still not eliminate all emissions due to operational efficiency.
Carbon-capture is seen as a potential future technology for ceramics, particularly in helping to mitigate process emissions (from clays / additives) and more-likely for larger ceramic installations. Aside from any extortionate capital investment and substantial operating costs, other factors are critical as to whether carbon capture could potentially be adopted, including total site carbon emissions and carbon concentration. The UK ceramics industry overall has ~27% process emissions, but these are highly-varied across the sector. Over 90% of sites are small / ultra-small emitters and gas streams are also of dilute carbon dioxide concentration (less than 5% v/v).
Industrial clusters are currently a focal point for carbon capture transport / storage infrastructure. The sector’s dispersed locations could therefore limit potential tie-in opportunities, although local collaboration with adjacent industrial sites and CCU could potentially offer more-practical and commercially-viable solutions. A number of companies are exploring potential future implementation opportunities.
PRODUCT ADAPTION
Process emissions (from clays / additives) are not exclusive to ceramics, although compared to other energy-intensive industries the scale and concentration of carbon emissions, as well as number / breadth / location of sites, means that their potential abatement will be considerably more challenging, and with more-restricted commercially-viable options to abate them.
Whilst fuel-switching will have the largest overall contribution to emissions reduction, tackling process emissions is fundamental. R&D into materials substitution and product adaptation is a key area to helping reduce residual emissions from ceramic production by 2050.
RESIDUAL EMISSIONS
Individual companies / sites in the sector each have their own decarbonisation plans, and for whom achieving ‘net zero’ emissions may be plausible. Nevertheless, we want to be transparent in what we see as being the overall deliverability in sector decarbonisation which it can attain directly.
Even with decarbonised electricity, ambitious energy-efficiency, low-carbon fuel-switching for all sites, and carbon capture for whom it could be more-viable, our modelling demonstrates that achieving ‘net zero’ ceramic manufacturing will not be directly attainable. For sectors like UK ceramics, Government’s broader policy-making must utilise additional tools / measures, including:
- carbon offsetting mechanisms and schemes (carried out by companies directly / indirectly)
- recognising carbon neutrality across the value-chain over product lifecycle.
Whilst decarbonising ceramic manufacturing (and mitigating residual emissions) are a focus, consideration should also be given to the operational use of a product (beyond the factory gate); including their lifespan, downstream emission savings, requiring minimal maintenance and with a high resistance to challenging environmental conditions.
UK Ceramics Industry & Emissions
Ceramics have been produced in the UK for many centuries. The fundamentals of production - shaping clays, followed by drying / firing and decorating - largely remain the same, but manufacturing has continually evolved.
Key stages in the industry’s decarbonisation have been:
- CONSOLIDATION - fewer factories as companies (and sites) have merged.
- EFFICIENCY - more-efficient production, with advancements such as in kiln linings (ceramic refractories!), burners, kiln cars and adoption of heat recovery to capture / re-use waste heat.
- FUEL-SWITCHING - around 1950s-1980s there was a switch-over from using solid fuels (mainly coal) for firing, to natural gas (the most carbon-efficient fuel readily-available to support production at present).
The principal challenges for ceramic decarbonisation are around:
DISPERSED … many near raw materials, in all corners of UK, not in industrial cluster areas. Sites are unable to relocate given their local supply chains, long-life production assets and skilled employees.
MANY SITES / SMEs … ¾ of businesses in the sector are small-medium sized businesses, accounting for ~ 10% of UK ceramics’ greenhouse gas emissions.
SMALL & DILUTE EMISSIONS … compared to other energy-intensive industries (both individually / collectively).
DIVERSE … in the breadth of products made, to methods and scale production (ranging from gram-level to hundreds of thousands of tonnes annual production at sites).
PROCESS EMISSIONS … ~ 1/3rd of total carbon emissions, a result of firing raw materials (predominantly clays) releasing inherent carbon content. There is currently no viable technological solution to abate process emissions in totality.
Decarbonisation through to 2050
THE 2020s …
Decarbonisation in the 2020s is predominantly through technologies that already exist and the biggest direct contributor will be energy-efficiency (through significant investment in sites and other incremental improvements to the manufacturing process). Indirect emission reductions - decarbonisation of electricity - will be delivered directly by companies such as through solar / wind power generation, and indirectly by power generators decarbonising the grid.
Emerging fuel switching options (hydrogen and larger-scale electrification) may begin to contribute, and some growing use of bio-energy, although in the case of hydrogen it is perceived could be specific instances / areas where supplies are available in the 2020s (closer to key infrastructure or through consortium hydrogen projects). In addressing process emissions, adaptation of products will play an important role.
THE 2030s …
Efficiency measures are expected to continue to roll-out; although with alternative energy sources for firing beginning to have a bigger role. The biggest contributor to direct emissions reduction would be expected through continued roll-out of hydrogen supplies. Decarbonisation of the electricity network would be complete in this decade, supplemented by on-site power generation by companies. Product adaptation will continue and carbon capture, although contributing a small amount in this decade, could progressively develop, providing the technology and its viability, available implementation support and infrastructure allows.
THE 2040s …
Focus by now will firmly be on the broader adoption of hydrogen across the ceramic sector, the biggest contributor to emissions reduction by virtue of its use at sites with more tangible fuel emissions. Electrification is projected to increase drastically, but predominantly at smaller-scale sites where (although still challenging due its commercial viability) it is likely to be more-viable. Carbon capture (by then expected to be a more-mature technology for industrial applications) is expected could play a bigger role, particularly in tackling process emissions (carbon released from the clays and additives); although even then it is only likely to potentially be viable at a few, larger emission sites in the sector.
RESIDUAL EMISSIONS
Individual companies / sites in the sector each have their own decarbonisation plans, and for whom achieving ‘net zero’ emissions may be plausible. Nevertheless, we want to be transparent in what we see as being the overall deliverability in sector decarbonisation which it can attain directly.
Even with decarbonised electricity, ambitious energy-efficiency, low-carbon fuel-switching for all sites, and carbon capture for whom it could be more-viable, our modelling demonstrates that achieving ‘net zero’ ceramic manufacturing will not be directly attainable. For sectors like UK ceramics, Government’s broader policy-making must utilise additional tools / measures, including:
- carbon offsetting mechanisms and schemes (carried out by companies directly/indirectly)
- recognising carbon neutrality across the value-chain over product lifecycle.
Whilst decarbonising ceramic manufacturing (and mitigating residual emissions) are a focus, consideration should also be given to the operational use of a product (beyond the factory gate); including their lifespan, downstream emission savings, requiring minimal maintenance and with a high resistance to challenging environmental conditions.
Ceramics In Society & Net Zero Transition
As both a foundation and advanced industry, the UK ceramics industry is strategically-important, with ceramic products playing many essential roles across the UK economy in critical supply chains, and in many uses with no substitutable alternatives.
A vast array of durable, long-life goods, from well-known products through to cutting-edge materials, with a strong emphasis on product quality and performance characteristics, the breadth of societal applications of ceramic goods is enormous, including:
Refractories: withstanding thermal, mechanical and chemically-challenging environments, refractories play a critical, often overlooked role in the operation of almost every high-temperature process and vital for the safe operation, structural protection and thermal-efficiency of:
Industry: all heat-intensive manufacturing sectors
(such as steel, cement / lime, glass, ceramics, petrochemical, paper …)
Power generation: gas-fired, nuclear, waste incineration.
Advanced ceramics: A range of high-performance products used in:
Industry: high-temperature insulating/corrosion resistant components integral to heat-intensive production processes, heat recovery systems, steam generation and energy storage systems
Transport: fuel-efficiency components, protection for Electric Vehicle batteries
Power generation: components in all generation methods (gas, nuclear, wind, solar)
Aviation / aerospace: blade cores, thermal barrier coatings and craft nose cones,
Clay construction products: Clay construction products are renowned for their durability to face permanent exposure to demanding climate conditions. Clay brick, for example, has been the façade material of choice for centuries, with products of high thermal mass, long-life (typically in use for in excess of 150 years) and requiring minimal maintenance over their lifetime. Clay drainage pipes / clay roof tiles are equally of high strength / longevity, and manufactured to precise specifications.
Whiteware construction products: Wall/floor tiles and sanitary ware, both long-life, key aesthetic home products with sanitary roles.
Tableware & giftware: Highly durable and re-usable products, outperforming alternatives and requiring low levels of replacement. Withstand high-use commercial environments and products being passed down the generations.
Industry suppliers: Whilst not directly incumbent in the Decarbonisation Roadmap, the sector has very close ties with its many specialist raw material and equipment suppliers (as BCC members), and of course refractory producers for high-temperature process insulation materials. The sector collaborates with its suppliers, including areas such as research into hydrogen for firing.
Downstream value chain for product users:
Many ceramic goods are used as components of much larger, complex end-use systems or structures (such as housing which can vary in construction design, vehicles, wind turbines etc.). With literally thousands of ceramic product types, and in very niche roles, understanding value chain decarbonisation contribution is very challenging. Nevertheless, the thermally-insulating properties contribute greatly to downstream emissions reductions in the above range of applications; and also other critical roles products literally enable the processes society depends on.
Roadmap development
Every ceramic manufacturing site differs, unique in manufactured product/s, processes, raw materials / energy used and (crucially) their emissions profiles. To properly understand the emissions reduction potential across the full ceramic product spectrum - from existing, emerging and potential decarbonisation technologies - it was important to align closely data with the sector’s heterogeneity.
An in-depth exercise was undertaken, exploring how different ceramic producers may look to further decarbonise in the future, if energy supplies / costs and other constraints were removed and funding support was available. Engagement with technical contacts from around the sector was carried out to set a project scope and modelling approach, with work carried out through a number of phases:
1. Understanding UK ceramics’ emissions - Manufacturing sites (and their associated emissions) were categorised into separate Emission Pots; firstly, by key product group:
… sub-divided further by emissions magnitude (using UK ETS classifications, but applied to total Scope 1 & 2 emissions, rather than Scope 1, which may uplift some categorisations):
Each Pots’ total indirect, direct fuels and process emissions were aggregated for modelling.
2. Future technology deployment - Companies in each Emissions Pot were surveyed on:
- decarbonisation technologies they see as relevant to their manufacturing site/s
- potential roll-out timeframes of each technology (in the 2020s, 2030s, 2040s)
- indicative emissions reductions of each technology (as % reduction)
3. Emissions modelling to 2050 - each Pot’s direct, indirect and process emissions data was modelled with agreed technology deployment (working from the baseline emissions data). Overall outputs intend to show sector-level ‘Maximum Deliverable’ emissions reductions.
Key assumptions & caveats
The below sets out the key criteria and data used in the Roadmap methodology:
- EMISSIONS SCOPE: the energy-intensive stages of ceramic production are product drying / firing, with the predominant GHG associated with ceramic production being carbon. This exercise has therefore focussed on Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions.
- BASELINE YEAR: in terms of representativeness 2019 was selected as most-appropriate, given the more-recent impacts on the sector of both the Coronavirus pandemic and energy crisis. This also aligns with the year net zero was legislated for in the UK.
- FUTURE SCENARIO: ‘steady state’ production was assumed throughout modelling. More effort (and complexity) was put into understanding emissions / technology relationships across the sector than modelling of scenarios of sector growth or contraction.
- INPUT DATA (SOURCES/AVAILABILITY): production (tonnage), verified UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) emissions (for those in the scheme); and energy consumption (kWh) for sites not in ETS (converted to carbon emissions) was collated. For completeness, extensive effort was made to gather data through backfilling of gaps, with estimations for some small- / medium-sized companies (where not obtainable).
- EMISSION FACTORS: Indirect emissions were calculated from site electricity use (kWh). For non-ETS sites, direct emissions were calculated from the fuels used (kWh) i.e. natural gas, LPG. UK GHG conversion factors were used for emissions calculations.
- PROCESS EMISSIONS: verified process emissions data was collated for UK ETS / Small Emitter Opt-Out participants. For non-ETS sites, estimates were made following ETS ‘Method B’ (output-based) Tier 1 estimation methodology for clays (predominant tonnages used). Additives were not accounted for, given lack of available data / complexity of uses in the sector, although tonnages (versus clays) are comparatively small and unlikely to drastically impact outcomes.
REPORTING: the intention is for five-yearly Progress Reporting to be undertaken following publication of the Roadmap.
ROADMAP INCLUSIONS: the approach is broadly consistent with Government’s Business Sector Roadmap Criteria, insofar as currently possible, and as applicable.
A range of working assumptions were made for direct decarbonisation technologies:
- FUEL SWITCHING: all sites fuel-switch to one of profiled technologies included in modelling.
- HYDROGEN: Green hydrogen roll-out / individual consortium involvement initially, with uplift in electricity consumption modelled (albeit transitioning to zero-carbon from mid-2030s). In addition, more-extensive network availability beginning in 2030s, rapidly expanding in 2040s (aligned with the Energy Network Association’s Vision for Hydrogen). Assumed commercial viability versus alternative production methods.
- CCUS: application to largest sites in the sector (and emissions). Assumed deployment funding support availability. Uplift in electricity consumption modelled (albeit transitioning to zero-carbon from mid-2030s) as well as 95% carbon capture efficiency. Some with bio-energy with carbon capture resulting in a limited proportion of negative fuel emissions.
- EFFICIENCY: assumed funding support availability for investment in efficiency measures.
- GRID DECARBONISATION: alignment has been made to Government’s target of a decarbonised electricity network by 2035.
- ELECTRIFICATION: applicable predominantly to smaller-scale production sites. Commercial viability versus alternative production methods has been assumed, with grid connections / infrastructure to support operations. Uplift in electricity consumption modelled (albeit transitioning to zero-carbon from mid-2030s).
- SELF GENERATION: assumption of no grid connection issues for sites
- PRODUCT ADAPTION: assumed further R&D support is available and projects undertaken
- BIO-ENERGY limited (site-/company-specific) use is envisaged, given Government focus on prioritised applications, as set out in the UK Biomass Strategy.