Energy Usage
There are no low energy, rich countries. It is one of the clearest predictors of growth and future prosperity.
Energy is important for most advancements, productivity growth, and impact on the climate. Yet, the research expenditure is quite negligible. Across the top 25 usage sectors, there is a lot of research left to be done for techniques, processes, and fundamental breakthroughs.
Rank | Sector | Usage | Processes/Techniques |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Petroleum Refining | 4.8% | Distillation, catalytic cracking, hydrocracking, catalytic reforming, alkylation |
2 | Chemical and Petrochemical | 3.2% | Haber-Bosch process, steam cracking, catalytic reforming, methanol synthesis, polymerization |
3 | Iron and Steel Production | 3.0% | Blast furnace, basic oxygen steelmaking (BOS), electric arc furnace (EAF), continuous casting, hot rolling |
4 | Residential Energy Consumption | 2.5% | Heating, cooling, lighting, appliances, electronics |
5 | Cement Production | 2.0% | Calcination in rotary kilns, preheater and precalciner technology |
6 | Pulp and Paper | 1.5% | Kraft pulping, mechanical pulping, bleaching, pressing, drying |
7 | Commercial Buildings | 1.2% | Heating, cooling, lighting, running equipment |
8 | Aluminum Production | 1.0% | Hall-Héroult process for electrolytic reduction of alumina |
9 | Bitcoin Mining | 0.6% | Proof-of-work algorithm, ASIC mining, data center operations |
10 | Food and Beverage | 0.6% | Pasteurization, sterilization, drying, freezing, fermentation, cooking, cooling, packaging |
11 | Non-ferrous Metals Production | 0.5% | Pyrometallurgy (smelting), hydrometallurgy (leaching), electrorefining |
12 | AI and Machine Learning | 0.5% | Training large-scale models, data center operations, high-performance computing |
13 | Textiles | 0.4% | Spinning, weaving, dyeing, finishing, washing, heat-setting |
14 | Data Centers | 0.4% | Server farms, cloud computing, storage systems, cooling systems |
15 | Mining and Quarrying | 0.4% | Drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, crushing, grinding |
16 | Transport Equipment Manufacturing | 0.3% | Metal stamping, welding, painting, assembly, machining, heat treatment, coating |
17 | Telecommunications | 0.3% | Network operations, data transmission, mobile networks, ISPs |
18 | Machinery Manufacturing | 0.3% | Casting, forging, machining, assembling, welding, heat treatment, surface finishing |
19 | Pharmaceuticals Manufacturing | 0.2% | Chemical synthesis, fermentation, extraction, purification, heating, cooling, drying |
20 | Construction Materials Production | 0.2% | Mixing and curing of concrete, baking of bricks, manufacturing of insulation materials, kilns, autoclaves |
21 | Rubber and Plastics | 0.2% | Polymerization, vulcanization, extrusion, injection molding |
22 | Cloud Computing Services | 0.2% | SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, large-scale data processing, storage |
23 | Agriculture | 0.2% | Irrigation, machinery operation, processing of agricultural products |
24 | Electronics Manufacturing | 0.1% | Semiconductor fabrication, PCB assembly, soldering, testing |
25 | Water Supply and Treatment | 0.1% | Pumping, treating, distributing water, wastewater treatment |
26 | Leather and Footwear | 0.1% | Tanning, dyeing, cutting, sewing |
27 | Wood and Wood Products | 0.1% | Sawing, drying, laminating, veneering |
28 | Furniture Manufacturing | 0.1% | Cutting, assembling, finishing, upholstery |
Total Energy Usage | 25.4% |
Links
- How does energy impact economic growth?
- Historical Trends in Federal R&D
- IEA - Industry - Energy System
- EIA - Use of energy in industry
- McKinsey - Global Energy Perspective 2023
- Eurostat - Final energy consumption in industry
- Our World in Data - Energy Production and Consumption
- IEA - Bitcoin energy use estimates
Please email any other relevant suggestions; particularly the counterarguments.