Industrial thermal energy emissions —a byproduct of the heat used to make the goods society demands—create 12.5% of greenhouse gas pollution in the United States. Without addressing these emissions, there is no path to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. WWF established the Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) to unite large energy buyers with renewable thermal solutions providers to drive market transformation of this overlooked sector. In 2022 RTC carried out a cross-sector analysis of industrial heat emissions and potential technological solutions. This analysis identified industrial heat pumps (IHPs) as the greatest near-term opportunity to reduce industrial thermal emissions. Support from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations will develop and initiate a campaign to encourage IHP adoption.
Proposed grant activities include:
– Launch an RTC IHP Working Group
– Create a comprehensive IHP strategy
– Educate federal policymakers on policy opportunities to accelerate deployment of IHPs
– Convene energy buyers and utilities
– Elevate RTC’s expertise on IHPs.
These activities will lower technology, market, and policy barriers, accelerate the deployment of IHPs, and significantly reduce low-temperature industrial emissions.