Full Title: Low Carbon Thermal Energy Roadmap for Textile Industry
Author(s): Ali Hasanbeigi, Cecilia Springer, and Dennis Wei
Publisher(s): Global Efficiency Intelligence
Publication Date: March 18, 2025
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Description (excerpt):
The textile and apparel industry is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 2% of annual emissions. A major challenge is its reliance on fossil fuel-based thermal energy for process heating, such as steam production and thermal oil heating, which contributes to substantial carbon dioxide emissions. The industry increasingly recognizes the need to decarbonize, especially as global demand for apparel grows.
This report, commissioned by the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) and authored by Global Efficiency Intelligence, focuses on strategies to transition textile plants in five key textile-producing countries (China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia) to low-carbon thermal energy by shifting to alternative fuels and electrification technologies. The report analyzes electrification with electric boilers and industrial heat pumps, and the effects of switching to the alternative fuels of biomass and natural gas. Results are presented for steam and thermal oil heating, which account for 50-60% and 30-40% of fuel use in a typical textile wet processing plant, respectively.