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Detailed data on hard-to-abate industrial sectors is crucial for developing targeted decarbonization measures in energy system modeling, yet such information is rarely available through open sources. This paper presents a top-down methodology to estimate detailed industrial site-level energy and emissions databases by integrating and expanding publicly available data. The methodology addresses three key challenges: (1) the disaggregation of national energy consumption data to site level, (2) the categorization of process heat by four temperature ranges (<100 °C, 100 °C-500 °C, 500 °C-1000 °C, and >1000 °C) and direct use of electricity, and (3) the integration of process emissions from feedstock use in hard-to-abate industrial sectors. The approach is demonstrated through application to the Italian industrial sector for the year 2022, resulting in a database that documents site-specific consumption across seven energy sources: solid fossil fuels, manufactured gases, oil and petroleum products, natural gas, biofuels, non-renewable wastes, naphtha and electricity. The method can be replicated for other European countries, providing researchers and policymakers with a standardized approach to create detailed industrial energy databases. Results show that the chemical and petrochemical sector dominates the industrial energy landscape of Italy, followed by iron and steel, non-metallic minerals, and paper and pulp. The geographical distribution reveals a concentration of major industrial facilities in northern Italy, with notable exceptions including significant steel production in Taranto (south) and petrochemical complexes in Sicily and Sardinia., (© 2025 The Authors.)

The present study analyses the CO 2 emission balance of a large-scale rail tunnel. The CO 2 emissions during the construction phase are compared to possible savings during the operational phase, which can be achieved by shifting freight transport from road to rail. The Brenner Base Tunnel is used as case study. Electric vehicles are expected to gradually replace diesel trucks in the near future, affecting road transport. The electricity landscape is also changing strongly in Europe with greater energy production from renewable sources. The research aim is to consider the impact on the CO 2 emission balance of the electrification of road transport and the changing electricity mix. The results show that in a fully electrified road transport and decarbonized electricity system scenario, there is no direct CO 2 emission advantage of rail over road transport; however, rail transport at the Brenner pass leads to a relevant energy efficiency advantage., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024 The Author(s).)