# Energy-intensive industry

Steel, cement, aluminium, ammonia and chlor-alkali, where energy is a large part of cost.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/

Conversion and use · Industry, buildings and farms · No. 117

- Conversion and use
 Conversion and use · Industry, buildings and farms · Foundation · Energy

A tonne of steel took about 50 GJ in the 1960s; today it takes about 21, and chemistry sets a hard floor.

Chart: Illustration: Energy-intensive industry

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Most metals sit in rock bound to oxygen, and breaking that bond takes a fixed amount of energy. A blast furnace uses carbon to take the oxygen; hydrogen or electricity can do it instead.

##### Three things to know

1. The best plants now use about 1.5 to 2.5 times the chemical minimum energy to turn ores into metals and chemicals.
2. About half of cement's CO2 (53%) comes from the limestone itself, so cleaner fuel alone cannot fix it.
3. Compressed air turns only about 10% of its electricity into useful work at the tool.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Ores and fuels**Iron ore, bauxite, limestone, gas, salt
2. 2 **Energy in**Coke, gas or electricity supplies heat
3. 3 **Reduction**Oxygen stripped from ores by carbon or electrons
4. 4 **Bulk materials**Steel, aluminium, clinker, ammonia, chlorine
5. 5 **End use**Buildings, vehicles, fertiliser and chemicals
 Covered in [Power density: why land and space matterEnergy](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/energy/power-density/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/correlation/index.md)
- [Science and limits](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/science/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/valuechain/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/economics/index.md)
- [Engineering methods](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/methods/index.md)
- [Equipment and suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/equipment/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heavy_industry/links/index.md)