- Energy efficiency is a market driver for ABB. A significant proportion of revenues comes from sales of energy efficiency products
- The Group successfully reached its target of reducing energy use per manufactured unit by five percent by the end of 2007
- ABB products such as motors and variable speed drives lead to huge energy savings and lower emissions
Energy efficiency is part of ABB’s DNA. It’s a core element of ABB manufacturing processes and the products that are sold to customers. In this way ABB helps customers to use electrical power effectively and to increase industrial productivity in a sustainable way.
The link between energy efficiency and mitigating climate change is clear. According to a recent study by the International Energy Agency, 80 percent of projected CO
2 emission reductions by 2030 will be delivered through energy efficiency.
ABB recognizes the issue’s importance: A significant proportion of ABB’s revenues come from products that increase customers’ energy efficiency. And ABB’s strategy through to 2011 identifies environmental concerns as a key driver of market growth.
As an example, ABB’s motors and variable-speed drives already contribute to large energy savings and CO
2 emission reductions. The global installed base of ABB low-voltage drives alone saves about 130 million megawatt-hours of electricity a year, equivalent to the annual consumption of about 32 million households in developed countries. This saving avoided CO
2 emissions of about 109 million tons – that’s more than the yearly emissions of Finland.
Another important means of reducing CO
2 emissions is through a wider use of renewable energy. Wind power farms, for example, tend to be offshore, a long way from the grid and consumers. But ABB’s high-voltage direct current Light technology brings that renewable power “to market” by linking offshore wind turbines to mainland grids. This represents a key opportunity for ABB with clear societal benefits.
ABB's industrial robots also save energy and the environment by reducing the amount of material that is spoiled in the manufacturing process. In high-precision polishing, for example, scrap rates were cut from 30 percent down to nearly zero.
Within ABB, the company met its target of reducing the use of energy per manufactured unit by five percent over two years. Savings have been impressive: The motor factory in Alrode, South Africa, cut the power used to produce a motor by 50 percent; electricity-use per employee in China decreased by 25 percent and a fund for energy-saving projects was created in Sweden, financed by a surcharge on the price of all air tickets purchased.