Bridging the industrial data gap: Top-down approach from national statistics to site-level energy consumption data

Abstract

Detailed data on hard-to-abate industrial sectors is crucial for developing targeted decarbonization measures in energy system modeling, yet such information is rarely available through open sources. This paper presents a top-down methodology to estimate detailed industrial site-level energy and emissions databases by integrating and expanding publicly available data. The methodology addresses three key challenges: (1) the disaggregation of national energy consumption data to site level, (2) the categorization of process heat by four temperature ranges (<100 °C, 100 °C-500 °C, 500 °C-1000 °C, and >1000 °C) and direct use of electricity, and (3) the integration of process emissions from feedstock use in hard-to-abate industrial sectors. The approach is demonstrated through application to the Italian industrial sector for the year 2022, resulting in a database that documents site-specific consumption across seven energy sources: solid fossil fuels, manufactured gases, oil and petroleum products, natural gas, biofuels, non-renewable wastes, naphtha and electricity. The method can be replicated for other European countries, providing researchers and policymakers with a standardized approach to create detailed industrial energy databases. Results show that the chemical and petrochemical sector dominates the industrial energy landscape of Italy, followed by iron and steel, non-metallic minerals, and paper and pulp. The geographical distribution reveals a concentration of major industrial facilities in northern Italy, with notable exceptions including significant steel production in Taranto (south) and petrochemical complexes in Sicily and Sardinia.