Characterization of energy efficiency measures for cross cutting technologies and evaluation of barriers to their adoption within manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises

Nearly more than a half of the global delivered energy demand and almost 40% of worldwide CO2 emissions are attributable to industrial activities. Industrial energy efficiency has always improved in recent years, yet a large number of energy efficiency measures (EEM) is still not fully exploited due to existence of a wide range of barriers. This particularly concerns small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which cover a consistent share of energy consumption, are usually less efficient than large enterprises and have received little attention by researcher as well as policy-makers. Therefore, the aim of the study is to characterize the energy efficiency measures for cross-cutting technologies since improvements in such areas are generally more replicable across industries, as opposed to process-specific intervention. Furthermore, an all-encompassing taxonomy for empirical investigation of the barriers within SMEs is presented. Finally, in an attempt to evaluate to what extent energy efficiency is hindered by the barriers, 15 case-studies are investigated by means of structured-interviews with owner-managers or other key people. The cases has been selected within the primary metals manufacturing sector of the Lombardy region since both the sector and the geographical area are strategic for the Italian economy. The findings show that, despite the high status given to energy efficiency, SMEs are mostly concerned with other core priorities, i.e., production. In addition, factors contingent to each SME seem to influence the relative perception of some barriers. To conclude, further research is needed to give better insight in the causal link between EEMs’ attributes and barriers.