Optimizing energy-intensive processes

The cement sector, one of the core components of heavy industry, faces a particularly daunting task. Cement manufacturers are looking to cut emissions but must confront the operational reality of maintaining the extremely high temperatures required to produce clinker, an intermediary output combining limestone and clay that is integral to cement production. ABB Ability™ Expert Optimizer is an advanced process control solution for cement companies that continuously monitors and optimizes the performance of cement kilns, the industry's most energy-intensive element, and related production steps.

Votorantim Cimentos, a global cement leader based in Brazil, is making strides on its decarbonization journey by implementing Expert Optimizer to digitalize multi-site operations. Expert Optimizer's precise control not only streamlines operations but also delivers substantial environmental benefits. Votorantim Cimentos reports higher productivity and decreased energy consumption, directly translating to lower greenhouse gas emissions and a more sustainable production process. 

In the chemicals sector, distributed control system (DCS) technology will optimize production efficiency, increase yield, analyze raw material consumption, monitor energy use and ensure product quality at PKN Orlen’s Olefin III complex in Poland. ABB AbilityTM System 800xA® serves as the central nervous system at the facility, which is among the largest petrochemical investments in Europe in 20 years. By offering a holistic view of production processes, System 800xA empowers organizations to spot inefficiencies and make changes that can reduce energy consumption.

Driving the transformation of mining and metals

The mining industry is another area ripe for decarbonization. ABB's eMineTM portfolio is one source of transformational innovations for the sector. Copper Mountain, a leading Canadian mining company, has turned to ABB's eMine Trolley System solution, which provides clean and efficient power to haul trucks, resulting in a measurable decrease in diesel consumption. This means lower greenhouse gas emissions and a smaller environmental footprint for Copper Mountain's mining operations. And beyond the environmental benefits, trucks run twice the speed, resulting in higher performance.

This push for decarbonization in mining is mirrored in the wider metals industry. Traditional steel production, for example, relies heavily on coal-fired blast furnaces, which emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. Green steel production methods, however, aim to replace or significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels, particularly coal, in the steelmaking process, and ABB is at the forefront of collaborative efforts to achieve this goal.

Recognizing the need for a more sustainable approach, Tata Steel joined forces with ABB to explore innovative technologies that can minimize the environmental impact of steel production. Together, Tata Steel and ABB are assessing the energy efficiency, decarbonization potential and circularity of Tata Steel's manufacturing plants. This includes hydrogen as an alternative fuel for upstream processes and energy reduction, and substitution through fully integrated electrification and digital systems such as ABB eMine, e-Mobility solutions and energy-efficient motors. 

Boosting energy efficiency

A core element of industrial decarbonization lies in replacing gas- and diesel-powered turbines and motors with electric motors. However, another huge opportunity is swapping out less efficient electric motors with current technology – recent analysis of global machine parks from ABB suggests as much as 31 percent energy savings from such upgrades. The stakes in terms of decarbonization are clear when we consider there are more than 300 million industrial motors in operation globally.

Industrial motors that meet the highest standards for energy efficiency hold promise in terms of reducing energy consumption, leading to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity usage across industrial facilities. For instance, ABB's synchronous reluctance motors offer superior efficiency , translating to lower energy demand and a smaller environmental footprint for heavy industry operations. For the large high-speed synchronous motors exists the Top Industrial Efficiency (TIE) option, which offers an increase in efficiency equivalent of up to three IE classes.

Beyond electric motors, ABB's portfolio of generators also contributes to the decarbonization of heavy industry. By integrating renewable energy sources like wind and solar into industrial microgrids, ABB's generators can help companies reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation. These generators are designed to handle the variable nature of renewable energy sources, ensuring a reliable and sustainable power supply for the community/society including  industrial processes.

Heavy industry depends on powerful motors and drives to keep applications like pumps, fans, belts and compressors running. These motor-driven systems, which convert 45% of the world’s electricity into motion, present an opportunity in terms of addressing climate impacts. The ABB Ability™ Digital Powertrain energy appraisal remotely collects data from motor fleets, providing performance insights, identifying energy wasters, and recommending efficiency improvements to reduce CO2 emissions.

At the heart of ABB’s digital powertrain portfolio is our ABB Ability™ Monitoring Service offering. This service utilizes sensors and data analytics to monitor the health and performance of motors, drives and driven equipment in real-time. By identifying issues before they escalate into failures, this proactive approach allows for preventive maintenance, reduces downtime and energy consumption. Additionally, monitoring data can be used to refine powertrain settings for top efficiency, further minimizing energy waste.

The ABB Energy Appraisal, a service under the digital powertrain umbrella, leverages data from motors and drives across an entire facility. This comprehensive data analysis helps identify motors and applications with the highest energy-saving payoffs. By pinpointing the most relevant motor-driven application for modernization , ABB Energy Appraisal empowers companies to prioritize spending and maximize the impact of decarbonization investments.

Like other heavy industrial sectors, the pulp and paper industry is increasingly turning to technology to drive its transformation. ABB's high-efficiency powertrains and digital solutions are playing a vital role in this. The Waggeryd Pulp Mill in Sweden, facing rising energy costs and environmental concerns, partnered with ABB for support in electrification, automation and digitalization. This included the installation of ABB's high-efficiency motors across various production processes. These motors, designed to optimize electricity consumption, have substantially reduced the overall energy footprint of the mill.