India’s textiles industry stands at a turning point, with process heating emerging as a decisive factor in its future energy and emissions profile. New modelling shows that replacing fossil-fuelled boilers in wet-processing with efficient electric systems can slash carbon output, especially when paired with renewable power. The findings map out potential pathways to transform one of manufacturing’s most energy-intensive operations.
- Heat pumps convert electricity into multiple units of usable heat, achieving high efficiency across a variety of temperature requirements in textile wet-processing facilities.
- Electric boilers provide a commercially mature, high-efficiency heating option with lower maintenance requirements than conventional coal or biomass-fired systems.
- Integrating renewable energy procurement into electrification strategies further reduces electricity-related emissions and stabilises long-term operational energy costs.
- The report Electrification of Heating in India’s Textile Industry by Ali Hasanbeigi, Cecilia Springer, and Cassandra Savel has just been published by Global Efficiency Intelligence.
WHAT THE DATA SHOWS: In 2019–20, greenhouse gas emissions from India’s textiles industry were conservatively estimated at approximately 49 million tonnes of CO₂. For textile wet-processing, coal represented 81% of fuel use, biomass accounted for 18%, and petroleum products made up the remaining 1%. Wet-processing remained the most fuel-intensive stage in textile production, driving much of the sector’s fossil fuel consumption and related emissions.
THE HIGHLIGHTS: At facility scale, electrifying steam and thermal oil systems can substantially cut energy use and emissions. Electric steam boilers could save 17 GWh annually, heat pumps 48 GWh, and electrified thermal oil boilers 8 GWh. With 100% renewable power, steam boiler emissions of around 23 kt CO₂ could be avoided. Nationally, full electrification could cost $930 million for electric boilers or $5.6 billion for heat pumps.
- Heat pumps achieve the highest savings at facility level, reducing annual energy use by about 48 GWh due to their superior efficiency.
- Electric steam boilers can save roughly 17 GWh annually, cutting energy use by about 26% at a typical textile wet-processing plant.
- Electrifying thermal oil boilers delivers around 8 GWh annual energy savings for a representative textile facility in India.
- With full renewable electricity procurement, electrified steam systems can avoid approximately 23 kt of CO₂ emissions each year.
- National capital expenditure estimates are $930 million for electric boilers and $5.6 billion for heat pumps, compared with $1.4 billion for coal boilers.
- Heat pumps’ higher upfront costs are offset over time by lower operating costs from improved efficiency and reduced energy consumption.
