Energy efficiency is still an under-exploited opportunity

The world’s energy systems are facing an unprecedented set of challenges. Security of supply is no longer assured, while soaring costs threaten the health and safety of consumers and are a brake on industrial growth. At the same time, we must address climate change by driving down carbon emissions to achieve our Net Zero goals.

While the transition to renewables is of course vital to decarbonisation, there is a question that is still largely overlooked – why aren’t we trying much harder to make better use of the energy we already have? In industry, far too much energy is wasted needlessly by aging and inefficient equipment. It is a real problem since, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), industry consumes around 42 per cent of the world’s electricity, equal to more than 34 exajoules of energy.

There is simple and effective technology available today that can transform industrial energy efficiency. The challenge is that this massive opportunity is still underexploited. That is why ABB has worked with the Energy Efficiency Movement to create a report showing how improving industrial energy efficiency is the fastest and most effective way for a business to cut energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The Energy Efficiency Movement is a global forum of around 300 organisations sharing ideas, best practices and commitments to create a more energy-efficient world.

The Industrial Energy Efficiency Playbook includes 10 actions that a business can take to improve its energy efficiency, reduce energy costs and lower emissions right now. It focuses on mature, widely available technology solutions that will deliver rapid results and return on investment (ROI) and which are capable of being deployed at scale.

Recommendations range from carrying out energy audits to right-sizing industrial machines that are often too big for the job at hand, which wastes energy. Speeding up the transition from fossil fuels, by electrifying industrial fleets, switching gas boilers to heat pumps or using well-maintained heat exchangers will also offer efficiencies.

A key focus is on the powertrains used in countless industrial applications to convert electrical energy into motion. The main elements of an industrial electric powertrain are the motor, variable speed drive (VSD) and the application itself, such as a pump, fan or compressor. It is estimated that an astonishing 46 per cent of the world’s electricity is used to produce mechanical energy through electric motor-driven systems. In industry, the consumption rises to two-thirds of total electricity.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) establishes a range of international efficiency (IE) standards for motors, ranging from IE1 (“standard”) to IE4 (“super-premium”). There are moves to introduce an even more advanced standard, IE5, already reached by synchronous reluctance (SynRM) motors.