Argonne researchers introduce Decarbonization Scenario Analysis Model

In Illinois, while decarbonization pathways are complex, varied and specific to individual industries, clean-energy technologies and low- and zero-carbon fuels are integral to all carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation strategies across the U.S. economy. And as scientists develop strategies, they are also creating tools to assess them.

Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have introduced the Decarbonization Scenario Analysis Model, which measures the effect of carbon mitigation approaches on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) across the U.S. economy. The tool is benefited from Argonne’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET®) lifecycle analysis models.

In a recently published paper in the journal Sustainable Energy & Fuels, researchers applied the Decarbonization Scenario Analysis Model to analyze decarbonization scenarios from 2020 through 2050 across five sectors of the U.S. economy: transportation, industrial, agriculture, residential/commercial and energy power. The emissions of CO2 and other GHGs such as methane that are warming the planet come primarily from these sectors of the economy.