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IndustrialdecarbonizationintheageofgenAI

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Contents

Fourleversarecriticalforthesuccessofthemultigenerationalapproach

Page15

Preface

Page3

Frombespokeprojectstoamultigenerationalapproach

Page5

Insightsfromourresearch:Repeatabledelivery

Notjustreadybut

poweredforchange

Page36

Lever1

Scaleefficient,resilient

supplychains

Page16

Abouttheresearch

Page38

HowAccenturecanhelp

Page39

redefinesthecostcurve

Page9

Lever2

Fostercommunitysupportandcustomerdemand

Page21

Lever3

Reinventtalent,

skillingandworkflows

Page26

Lever4

Establishastrongdigital

coretopowerAIlearnings

Page31

>Copyright?2025Accenture.Allrightsreserved.

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>Copyright?2025Accenture.Allrightsreserved.

Preface

Everyyearto2050counts—fortheplanet,andfortheindustriesreshapingit.

Tomeetnet-zerogoals,wemustsignificantlyreduceemissionsintheoil,gas,powerandheavyindustries.

Atthesametime,wemustcontinuetomeetgrowing

energyandconsumerdemandwhilesustainingprofitablegrowth.

Inouroriginal

PoweredforChange

report,wesetout

threeimperativesforindustrialdecarbonization:targetinggreenpremiumstofinanceearly-stagesolutions,scalinglow-carbonpowerandhydrogenandreducingcapitalandoperatingcostsfornet-zeroinfrastructure.Theseprioritiesremainessential.Butknowingwhatmustbedoneis

notthesameasknowinghowtodoit—faster,moreconsistentlyandatsignificantlylowercost.

InPoweredforChange2025,weshowhowtoachieve

thoseambitionsbyreinventingthemassivebuild-out

ofnet-zeroinfrastructure.Thisincludesrenewable

energy,nuclearpower,greenhydrogen,carboncapture,lower-carbonmanufacturingandthetransmissionand

distributionnetworksthatconnectthem.

OurinsightsandrecommendationsareinformedbyAI-

augmentedresearch.Weanalyzedover200companies’

communicationswiththehelpofAI,synthesizedexpert

interviewsandappliedproprietaryinverseS-curvemodeling.Thisblendofmachineintelligenceandexecutiveinsight

allowedustodetectemergentpatternsandmodelreal-worlddecarbonizationstrategieswithunprecedenteddepth.

Basedonthesefindings,werecommendamultigenerational

approachtodecarbonization.It’sashiftfrombespokeprojectstorepeatablesystems;fromsingularfirststocontinuous

improvements;fromcostescalationtocompounded

advantage.Ratherthantreatingeachinfrastructureprojectasanisolatedeffort,amultigenerationalapproachconnectsthem—technically,financiallyandstrategically—sothateachprojectbuildsonthelast.

Ourresearchshowsthatboldreinventionchangesthe

economicsofdecarbonization.Companiescandrastically

reducecapitalexpenditureacrossiterations.AndAIandgen

AIcanamplifyitseffectsbycapturinglearningsacrossprojectsanddeliveringexponentialreturns.

Thesuccessofthemultigenerationalapproachhingesonfourlevers:resilientsupplychains,community

engagement,workforcereinventionandastrongdigitalcoreforAI-poweredlearning.Together,theyunlocka

faster,morecost-effectivepathtolarge-scaleindustrialdecarbonization.

Thequestionisnolongerwhetherwecanact,buthow

wellwecanlearn—andhowfastwecanscalewhatwe’vealreadystarted.Tobepoweredforchange,weneedto

turnmomentumintoimpact.

StephanieJamison

GlobalResourcesPracticesChair&SustainabilityServicesLead

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Authors

StephanieJamison

SeniorManagingDirector

GlobalResourcesIndustryPracticesChairandAccentureSustainabilityServicesLead

stephanie.a.jamison@

StephanieisAccenture'sGlobalResourcesIndustry

PracticesChair,whichincludestheutilities,chemicals,naturalresourcesandenergyindustries,aswellas

Accenture’sglobalSustainabilityServicesleader.In

theseroles,andasamemberofAccenture’sGlobal

ManagementCommittee,StephaniehasresponsibilityforhelpingAccentureclientsreachtheirnet-zero

targetsandbroadersustainabilitygoals.

Robert(Rob)Hopkin

ManagingDirector

GlobalResourcesPractice

Net-ZeroInfrastructureLead

robert.hopkin@

RobisaManagingDirectorinAccenture’sglobalutilitiespractice,focusedonthenet-zerotransitionacrossthe

valuechain.Robworkswithutilityclientsglobally,fromstrategythroughtooperations,withanemphasison

combiningdigitaltransformationanddecarbonization.

LasseKari

PrincipalDirector

GlobalResourcesandEnergyResearchLead

lasse.kari@

LasseisaPrincipalDirectoratAccentureResearch,

focusedonprimaryresearchinsightsacrosstheenergyandheavyindustrialvaluechain.Lasse’sworkincludessurveys,economicmodelingandAI-augmentedinsightstoenablefact-baseddiscussionsondecarbonization

anddigitalizationwithourclients.

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Frombespokeprojectstoamultigenerationalapproach

OurfirstPoweredforChangereport

introducedthreeimperativesfor

industrialdecarbonization:targeting

greenpremiumstofinanceearly-stage

solutions,scalinglow-carbonpowerandhydrogentosupportanaffordableand

reliabletransition,andreducingcapital

andoperatingcostsforlow-carbon

infrastructure.Thelattertwoarenot

possiblewithoutamoreeffectivewaytobuildandoperatenet-zeroinfrastructure.

Today,mostinfrastructureprojectsaretreatedas

one-offefforts,planned,financedandexecutedinisolation.Giventheircost,durationandcomplexity,eachisdeliveredasabespokeeffort,withlimited

connectiontoothers.Inourwork,wehavefound

that90%ofprojectsfollowthispattern,withonly

10%benefitingfromrepeatableteamsorsupply

chains.Ourresearchalsorevealsaprevailingshort-termorientationinhowheavyindustriesandenergyprovidersarticulatetheircurrentdecarbonization

projectplans.Upto75%oftheseplansarecurrentlyfocusedondiscussingshort-termprojectsthatyieldimmediateresults(seeFigure1).Thisfragmented

approachincreasesriskandcost—especiallyinthecontextofindustrialdecarbonization.

Figure1

Energy,utilitiesandheavysectorcompaniesare

morefocusedonshort-termthanlong-termprojects

Shortterm

orimmediateprojects

Longterm

orprogramofprojects

Heavysectors

Energy/Utilities

Notes:Basedontheshareofcompaniesdiscussingtheiractionsandprojectsrelatedtothesetcontext.Long-term/programofprojects

referstostrategicinitiativesandprograms,incontrasttocurrent,ongoingorotherwiseimminentprojectsrelatedtothesetcontextofindustrialdecarbonization.

Source:AccentureResearchanalysisaugmentedwithAI,usingdatafromearningscallsandcompanypublications.

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Figure2

Costsdeclineandsavingsrisewhenyoutakeamultigenerationalapproach

Project2Project3Project4Project5Project"n"

1stgenerationlearnings

2ndgenerationlearnings

3rdgenerationlearnings

optimalprojectdelivery

Amultigenerationalapproachoffersawayforward.Itisashiftfrombespokeprojectstorepeatable,iterativedesigns.Insteadofreinventingthewheeleachtime,

Cost

companiesdevelopproducts,servicesortechnologiesonce,thenimprovethemwitheachdeployment.

Thisapproachisnotnew.Justascarmakersgainefficiencybyusingmodularplatforms,enablingmultiplevehicle

modelstosharestandardizedchassisandenginedesigns,thetechnologysectordoessobyinvestinginstandardizedarchitecturesandscalableplatforms.Imaginetheneedlesscostandcomplexityiftheydesignedeachnewproduct

Projects

completelyfromthegroundup.

$Baselineapproach

$Multigenerationalapproach

Cumulatedsavingsthroughamultigenerationalapproach(IncrementalNPV)

Notes:proportionsbasedonaninverseS-curveandNPV

calculationforlevelizedcostofgreenhydrogeninEuropeinbaseandoptimized"multigenerational"scenario.

Source:AccentureS-curvemodel.

Amultigenerationalapproachcreatesaflexible,

repeatableprocess,designedforcontinualupgradesandscalableproduction.

Whethermodernizingbrownfieldassetsorbuilding

greenfieldcapacity,amodular,standardizedapproachimprovesenterpriseresilienceandacceleratestime-

to-value.Itallowsorganizationstoabsorbinnovationcontinuously,withoutresettingprojecttimelinesordisruptingbroaderdecarbonizationstrategies.

Totrulyscaledecarbonization,companiesmustadopta

mindsetofcontinuouslearning,lookingbeyondindividualprojectstoconsiderhowtoday’seffortswillevolveover

thenext10,20or30years.Manycompaniesalreadyhave

10-yearcapitalplans;what’sneedednowistoembed

multigenerationalthinkingandnewcapabilitiesintothose

plansforlong-termimpact.Theaccumulatedlearningsoverindividualprojectgenerationswilldrivecumulativesavings,dramaticallyacceleratingthepaceofcostreduction,

especiallyduringthefirstfewcycles(seeFigure2).

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Figure3

The“From/To”ofamultigenerationalapproach

FromTo

Controlsmindsettomitigatesingle-projectrisk

Performance-drivenapproachfocusedonlong-termvalue

Turn-keyengineering,procurementandconstruction(EPC)model

Collaborativecontractingandsharedaccountability

Project-by-projectdelivery

Repeatabledeliverymodelacrossteamsandsupplychains

Bespokedesignsandconstructionmindset

Modular,standardizeddesignsandpre-builtcomponents

Changeduringconstruction

Early-stagecollaborationtoreducecostlychangeslater

Outreachandlocalcontentarequirement

Activecommunityandstakeholderengagement

Fragmentedbackwards-lookingdata

Predictiveinsightsforbetterplanninganddecisions,drivenbyAI

Goodpeopleovercomebrokenprocesses

Digitalsystemsthatstandardizeandstreamlinework

Meetassetstandards(designandoperation)

Smartassetsbuiltforlowercostandstrongerperformance

Narrowlocaltalentpool

Globallysourcedtalentempowering

localteams

Organizedbyprojectandtechnology

Sharedprocessesandexpertiseacrossmultipleprojects

Impactstory

Howshipbuildingreshaped

capitalefficiency

Industriesthathaveadopteda

multigenerationalmindsetarealreadyseeingcompoundingreturns.Oneofthemostpowerfulexamplescomes

fromshipbuilding.

Historically,shipbuildingwasabespokecraft.Each

vesselwasdesignedandbuiltfromscratch,resultingin

significantinefficiencies—fromhighproductioncostsandextendedtimelinestominimallearningacrossprojects.

Generationallearning,orthesystematicaccumulationandreuseofinsights,wasnearlynonexistent.

Modernshipbuildershavereinventedtheirapproachbyembracingflexible,modulardesignprinciples.Thistransformationischaracterizedby:

Standardizationandmodularization.Adoptingstandardizedcomponentsandmodulardesignsallowsshipbuildersto

reusepartsacrossmultipleprojects,streamliningproductionanddramaticallyreducingengineeringtimeandcosts.

Verticalintegration.Ratherthantreatingeachshipasa

standaloneproject,modernshipbuildersnowmanage

design,productionandsupplychainsholistically,

optimizingentireportfoliosanddrivingefficienciesatscale.

Harnessingthelearningcurve.Bysequencingproductiontoalignwithmultiple-unitorders,shipbuildersfullycapitalizeoncontinuouslearning.

Together,theseshiftshavetransformedshipbuildingfrom

aseriesofisolatedprojectsintoacompoundingsystemof

performancegains.Forinstance,thefifthshipinaseries

cancost50%lesstoproducethanthefirst,withsubsequentbuildsbecomingmoreprofitable.1

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Thisshowshowadoptingarepeatableapproach

candrivedowncoststhroughrepeatediterations—

particularlywhendesignstandardizationandproductionmodularityreachcriticalmass.

Compoundingbenefitsfromthemultigenerational

approach—lowercosts,fasterdelivery,higherquality—

aren’tlimitedtoshipbuilding.Theyreflectabroader

dynamicthatplaysoutacrossheavyindustry,from

hydrogenproductiontosteelandcementmanufacturing,asscaleandlearningaccelerate.

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Insightsfromourresearch:Repeatable

deliveryredefinesthecostcurve

Thesecompoundingreturnsfollowarecognizablepattern,onethatcanbemodeled,forecastedandscaled.OurinverseS-curveanalysisrevealshowcostreductionsevolveascompaniesmovefromfirst-of-a-kindeffortsto

repeatabledelivery.

WhereatypicalS-curveshowsgradualadoption

acceleratingbeforestabilizing,aninverseS-curve,orcost-curve,flipsthatview:costsstarthighwithearlylow-carboninvestments,thendropsharplyoncea

criticalthresholdisreached,drivenbycontinuouslearningandeconomiesofscale.

TheinverseS-curve,therefore,unfoldsinthreephases:

1.Initialphase.Earlyprojectsbringmodestsavingsasthelearningprocessbegins.

2.Tippingpoint.Experienceandscaleeffects

drivesignificantcostreductions,acceleratingdecarbonizationandimprovingROI.

3.Sustainedcostreductions.Ascompaniesapply

continuouslearningacrossmultipleprojects,capitalexpendituresdecline,creatingastrongincentiveforsustainedaction.

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Greenhydrogen,ablueprint

forcost-efficientscaling

Greenhydrogenoffersacompelling

demonstrationofhowamultigenerational

approachdeliversitspositivecascadeofbenefits.

Ouranalysisshowsthatbyapplyingamultigenerationalapproach,greenhydrogenproductioncouldachievea35%costadvantageby2035,reachingcostparitynearlyadecadeearlierthana

project-by-projectapproach.Evenearlieron,accumulated

projectlearningscandriveupto20%costsavingsinsequentialgreenhydrogenprojectswithinfivetosixyears.2Critically,thisstructured,multigenerationalstrategycouldgenerateupto

$60billioninnetpresentvalue(NPV)by2050,basedoncapturingjust5%ofglobalgreenhydrogendemand(seeFigures4–5).

Figure4

Takingthemultigenerationalapproachandmodelingitongreenhydrogen,usinganoptimizedinverseS-curve

Initial

Sustainedcostreductions

phase

Tippingpoint

7

6

15-20%

5

by2030

GrayH2

Tippingpoint

$US/kg

Costadvantage

of“optimized”greenH2production

4

30-35%

by2035

3

GreenH2basecase

GreenH2optimized

Tippingpoint

2

(directindustrycontrol)

1

0

202520302035204020452050

Notes:7%WACC,discountedfrom2025-2050,forEurope.Thecostoffossil-fuelbasedgrayhydrogenis

expectedtoincreaseinlinewithEUcarbontax,at$70-80/tCO2today,$150/tin2037and$300/tin2050.Source:AccentureS-curvemodel.

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Figure5

Takingamultigenerationalapproachwithgreenhydrogenisa>$60billionopportunity

60

CumulativeadditionalNPVdeliveredby

scalinglearningsacrossaportfolioof

5%oftheglobalgreenhydrogenmarket,

comparedtoone-offprojectexecution

40

$,billions

20

0

202520302035204020452050

Notes:H2demandbasedonIEAWEO2024NZE2050scenario.NPVcalculationbasedondeltaLCOHbetweenbaseandoptimizedscenario,7%WACC,discountedfrom2025-2050.Thecostoffossilfuel-basedgrayhydrogenisexpectedto

increaseinlinewithcarbontax,at$70-80/tCO2today,$150/tin2037and$300/tin2050.

Source:AccentureS-curvemodel.

Thiscost-reductiondynamicholdstrueacross

sectorslikesteel,cement,chemicals,miningand

refining.Whetheritiselectrolytichydrogen,processelectrification,carboncapture,utilizationandstorage(CCUS),co-locatingsteelmillswithnaturalhydrogendepositsorshiftingfromtraditionalblastfurnaces

toelectricarcfurnaces(EAF)anddirectreduced

iron-electricarcfurnaces(DRI-EAF),3companies

thatpursueacoordinated,multi-projectstrategywillmovefasterdownthecostcurve.Ouranalysisof

costcurvesforadvancednuclearpowergeneration

revealssimilardynamics:smallmodularreactors

(SMRs)canrealizesubstantialupfrontcostreductionsthroughSMRdesignandstandardization.

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AIcanbeaforce-multiplier

AIispoisedtoplayatransformativeroleinindustrial

decarbonization,notbyacceleratingindividualprojectsalone,butbyembeddingcontinuouslearningacross

entireportfolios.

Byanalyzingvastamountsofprojectdata,AIextracts

insightswithspeed,depthandprecisionbeyond

humancapabilities,acceleratingthelearningcurveandamplifyingreturnsacrosssuccessiveprojects.

Companiesthatharnessthiscapabilityeffectively

incapitalprojectscanbothoutperformonthefirst-

generationprojectstodayandcreatethefoundationsforoutperformanceonfuturegenerations.

Regulationcanhelp,butlong-termvaluedependsonresilience

Aroundtheworld,industrialpolicyisrapidlyevolvingtoaligndecarbonizationwitheconomiccompetitiveness.

IntheEU,theCleanIndustrialDeal(CID)4aimsto

bolsterregionalcompetitivenesswhileadvancing

decarbonization.Measuresincludeimprovingaccessto

affordableenergytoreducecustomers’bills,incentivizingelectrificationandeasingindustrialinvestments.The

CIDwillalsoadvancemarketreformstoencourage

cleanhydrogenuptakeandsupportpublicandprivate

investmentsinrenewableenergy,providinggreater

certaintyandpredictabilityforcompaniesandinvestorsalike.IntheUS,theExecutiveOrderUnleashingAmericanEnergy5underscoresacommitmenttoenhancingenergysecurityandindustrialcompetitivenessbystreamlining

permitting,prioritizingdomesticresourcedevelopmentandreducingregulatorybarriers.

InJapan,theGX2040Strategy,6recentlyapprovedalongsidethestate’sSeventhStrategicEnergy

Plan,7setsoutalong-termframeworktoacceleratedecarbonizationandstrengthenindustrialcapacity.

InChina,meanwhile,the2024–2025ActionPlanfor

EnergyConservationandCarbonReduction8mandatesmeasurableimprovementsacrossheavyindustries,

includingexplicittargetsforenergyefficiencyand

carbonreductionsinsectorslikesteel,petrochemicals,non-ferrousmetalsandbuildingmaterials.

Yet,whiletheglobalregulatoryenvironmentisoften

incentivizingindustrialplayerstotakemeaningfulactiononemissions,companiescannotaffordtorelyon

policymakersalone.Theymustproactivelysafeguardtheirfuturecompetitivenessbycuttingemissionsanddiversifyingtheirenergysupply.

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TheInternationalEnergyAgency(IEA)forecaststhat

globalelectricitydemandwillincreaseby80%by2050.Thisisnearlytwicethegrowthrateofoverallenergy

consumptionandshowshowimportantitistodiversify

energysourcesnotonlytoenablecleanenergyadoption,butalsotoensureasecure,resilientenergysupply.9

Theonusoncompaniestoactaheadofregulators

isreinforcedbyrisingmacroeconomicrisks.Today's

elevatedgeopoliticalvolatilityandoverallpolicy

uncertaintyaremakingindustrialdecarbonizationevenmorecomplex.Whatoncefeltlikeisolatedcriseshave

becomeapermanentfeatureofthebusinesslandscape.

Uncertainmarketconditionsarealsoaffecting

investment.Ourresearchshowsgrowingnegative

sentimentaroundcapitalprojects,applyingtobothconventionalandgreeninvestments.While30–35%oforganizationsusedapredominantlynegative

tonewhendiscussingtheirnewinvestmentsor

capitalprojectsin2024,thatpercentagehasgrownto50%in2025(seeFigure6).Inthiscontinued

fast-movingenvironment,amultigenerational,

repeatableapproachhelpscompanieshedge

againsttradedisruptions,safeguardaccessto

capitalandsustainmomentumamidshiftingpolicyandeconomicheadwinds.

Figure6

Companieshavegrowingconcernsabouttheviabilityofcapitalprojects.Negativesentimentisontherise

30-35%

in2024

>50%

in2025

Note:Percentageofcompaniesinutilities,oilandgas,chemicalsandminingandmetalsthatmentioncancellingcapitalprojectsorcuttingordelaying

capitalinvestments—measuredasashareofallcompaniesreferingtocapitalprojectsorinvestmentplans.

Source:AccentureResearchanalysisaugmentedwithAI,usingdatafrom

earningscallsandcompanypublicationsfromJanuary1,2024toApril15,2025.

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Inflexibilityof

infrastructure&supplychain

Missing

community

consent

However,it’snotjustaboutmacroeconomicfactors.Ourresearchrevealsthatwhileheavyindustriesandenergyprovidersarelessconcernedaboutinflationandthe

Scarcityoftalent

costofgreenpowerinthecomingyears,ahighshare

oftheseorganizationsareconsistentlyconcernedabout

infrastructureinflexibilityandsupplychains,missing

communityconsentandthescarcityoftalent(seeFigure7).

Figure7

Negativesentimentintopicsbeyondeconomicsisontherise

1yearago

Today

Lookingto

nextfewyears

Looking

to2030

Note:Percentageofcompaniesexpressingnegativesentimentonatopic,calculatedasashareofallcompaniesreferringtothattopicwithinagiventimeframe.

Source:AccentureResearchanalysisaugmentedwithAI,usingdatafromearningscallsandcompanypublications.

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Fourleversarecritical

forthesuccessofthe

multigenerationalapproach

Ourresearchhasidentifiedfourleversasessentialto

enablingthemultigenerationalapproachandunlockingitsbenefitsacrosscomplex,capital-intensiveportfolios.Theseleverstargetpersistentchallenges—suchascostvolatility,supplychainfragilityandexecutiongaps—thatcontinuetohinderlarge-scaledecarbonization.

Copyright?2025Accenture.Allrightsreserved.

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LEVER1

Scaleefficient,

resilientsupplychains

Copyright?2025Accenture.Allrightsreserved.

>Copyright?2025Accenture.Allrightsreserved.

Lever1

Whyitmatters

Aresilientsupplychainisthefoundationofindustrialdecarbonization,

enablingcleanenergyinfrastructuretoscalewithoutsupplydisruptions,costspikesorprojectfragmentation.Siloed,short-termprocurement,ontheotherhand,leadstoinefficienciesandcurtailslarge-scaledeploymentofcritical

solutions,suchashydrogen,carboncaptureandrenewables.

Thechallenge

Accenture’srecentresearchfoundthat,by2028,74%ofheavyindustryexecutivesexpectsupplychainvolatilitytonegativelyimpactlargecapitalprojects.10These

disruptionsincreasecosts,delayimplementationandpreventcompaniesfromscalingbeyondpilotprojects.Keybarriersinclude:

Longleadtimesandcostvolatility.Criticalcomponentslikehydrogenelectrolyz