Save billions by insulating industry’s future

New research into wasted energy in Poland, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and the UK reveals how European industry is missing out on the chance to save billions by failing to insulate industrial plants.

“The new data released by the European Industrial Insulation Foundation shows that in Germany, for example, an initial country-wide investment of €180 million into industrial insulation would pay back in less than 12 months saving German industry €750 million every year,” says Silke Weiss of Knauf Insulation’s Technical Solutions division.

According to the data, the savings potential of industrial insulation in Germany adds up to about 106PJ and 8.7 Mt CO2 every year – more than the energy consumed by 1.5 million households and the CO2 emissions of 4.3 million cars.

“The research shows that industry is seriously underestimating the savings potential of insulation and overestimating the payback time of its installation, says Weiss. “It should be carefully studied by every plant energy manager in Europe.”

The reports by ECOFYS for the European Industrial Insulation Foundation – of which Knauf Insulation is an active member – reveals payback times of less than a year in the seven countries surveyed with potential annual savings of national industrial insulation to be:

• Yearly savings of €420 million in France, against an initial investment in industrial insulation of €100 million;

• Yearly savings of €500 million in Italy, against an initial investment in industrial insulation of €90 million;

• Yearly savings of €200 million in Poland against an initial investment in industrial insulation of €35 million investment;

• Yearly savings of €400 million in Spain against an initial investment in industrial insulation of €75 million investment;

• Yearly savings of €150 million in Sweden against an initial investment in industrial insulation of €35 million investment;

• Yearly savings of £370 million in the UK against an initial investment in industrial insulation of £80 million investment

The country-specific data released by the European Industrial Insulation Foundation is available here and is based on the ECOFYS report Climate Protection With Rapid Payback which revealed a European industrial insulation annual energy savings potential of 620PJ and annual CO2 reductions potential of 49Mt the equivalent of the annual energy used by 10 million homes every year and the annual emissions from 18 million cars.

“When industry talks of fresh investment they are usually thinking about new machinery, research or processes, it’s time that insulation was put at the top of the agenda. Most companies would be amazed by the savings they could make within a very short payback time,” says Weiss.

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