A Technology-Neutral Emissions Standard for Clean Industrial Heat

The policy brief proposes a technology-neutral emissions standard for industrial heat, focusing on a declining limit of CO2 and other pollutants per unit of useful heat. It recommends applying the standard to both new and existing equipment, using a long-term legislative schedule to reach zero emissions, and focusing exclusively on direct (scope 1) emissions to encourage electrification without penalizing efficient technologies like heat pumps.

• The proposed emissions standard should target a declining limit of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur oxides (SOX), and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) per unit of useful heat used in manufacturing processes.
• To avoid penalizing efficient technologies such as heat pumps, the standard should be based on 'useful heat' (heat used productively) rather than the total input energy or total heat generated, excluding heat losses like hot exhaust gases.
• The standard should apply to both new and existing equipment concurrently, with different timelines for reaching zero emissions: 10–15 years for new equipment and 30–40 years for existing equipment.
• The standard should be based solely on direct 'scope 1' emissions from the industrial facility, disregarding 'scope 2' emissions from purchased electricity to avoid discouraging electrification.
• To maintain simplicity while accounting for the varying difficulty of decarbonizing different heat levels, the standard should be defined by a mathematical function or bins based on the heat's temperature and power (delivery rate).

APA

RISSMAN, J. (2024). A Technology-Neutral Emissions Standard for Clean Industrial Heat. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Technology-Neutral-Emissions-Standard-for-Clean-Industrial-Heat.pdf

Chicago

RISSMAN, JEFFREY. A Technology-Neutral Emissions Standard for Clean Industrial Heat. Energy Innovation, 2024. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Technology-Neutral-Emissions-Standard-for-Clean-Industrial-Heat.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=RISSMAN |first1=JEFFREY |title=A Technology-Neutral Emissions Standard for Clean Industrial Heat |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=July 2024 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Technology-Neutral-Emissions-Standard-for-Clean-Industrial-Heat.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rissman2024technologyneutral, author = {RISSMAN, JEFFREY}, title = {{A Technology-Neutral Emissions Standard for Clean Industrial Heat}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/A-Technology-Neutral-Emissions-Standard-for-Clean-Industrial-Heat.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }