Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a technology with important opportunities in heat recovery from energy intensive industrial processes. This paper represents the first comprehensive estimate of ORC units that can be installed in cement, steel, glass and oil&gas industries in the 27 countries of the European Union based on an accurate methodology related to real plants in operation or under construction. An evaluation of energy savings, depending on the number of operating hours per year and of the consequent decrease in CO2 emission and electricity expenditure, is also provided. The study, carried out in the framework of an European research project on heat recovery in energy intensive industries, found that, in the most convenient considered scenario, up to about 20,000 GW h of thermal energy per year can be recovered and 7.6 M ton of CO2 can be saved by the application of ORC technology to the investigated and most promising industrial sectors. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.