ABB - Experts & Thought Leaders

With the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s 9th Global Conference on 21-22 May in Nairobi approaching fast, businesses across the world face the goal of doubling progress towards energy efficiency by 2030 to meet COP28 emissions targets and cut energy costs. However, a recent report from the Energy Efficiency Movement shows that while there is optimism and appetite among businesses to invest in energy efficiency, the survey also identified barriers, including a lack of specialist resources (33 percent). Version of motor-driven systems To address this deficit and help businesses take the first step on their journey toward energy efficiency, ABB is launching an online calculator that offers easy access to data insight based on the energy performance of motor-driven systems. ABB is launching an online calculator that offers easy access to data insight By inputting basic details about their motor fleet, running hours and average operating power, the customer can estimate energy and emissions savings, and payback period. The online calculator is a light version of the in-depth energy efficiency audit used by ABB’s experts in a full study and is based on the same algorithm. Environmental impact and operating costs “Improving energy efficiency is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways for industrial organizations to reduce their environmental impact and operating costs,” said Erich Labuda, President of the Motion Services division at ABB. “However, many businesses lack the data insights needed to act. Our new online calculator democratizes access to this valuable information and helps businesses understand the scale of the opportunity.” Latest motor and drive technology The calculator focuses on low-voltage motors of efficiency class IE3 and below The calculator provides an initial estimate of the potential energy and cost savings achievable by upgrading pump and fan systems driven by low voltage direct online (DOL) motors, which are installed without a variable speed drive (VSD) to control their speed.  The calculator focuses on low-voltage motors of efficiency class IE3 and below. It estimates the energy savings that could be achieved by upgrading to the latest motor and drive technology – the IE5 SynRM package – for optimal energy efficiency gains. Energy efficiency journey After seeing the potential results, the next step in the energy efficiency journey is a full energy efficiency audit, where ABB’s experts gather site-specific data to precisely identify an operator’s top opportunities for saving energy. Once an audit’s recommendations are implemented, the final step is to protect their investments with customized service agreements that keep their motors and drives operating efficiently and reliably through their lifetime.

At the Hannover Messe on April 23, 2024, founding members ABB (including B&R), Capgemini, Microsoft, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric (including AVEVA), and Siemens announced collaboration on a new initiative to deliver interoperability for Industrial IoT ecosystems. Hosted by the Linux Foundation and open to further interested parties, the Margo initiative draws its name from the Latin word for 'edge' and will define mechanisms for interoperability between applications, devices and orchestration software at the edge of industrial ecosystems. Digital transition Margo aims to deliver on its interoperability promise through a modern and agile open-source approach In particular, Margo will make it easy to run and combine applications from any ecosystem member on top of the hardware and runtime system of any other member.  Margo aims to deliver on its interoperability promise through a modern and agile open-source approach, which will bring industrial companies increased flexibility, simplicity, and scalability as they undergo digital transition in complex, multi-vendor environments. digital ecosystems “Mastering efficiency, flexibility and quality faster than competitors is key to success in today’s industrial world,” said Bernhard Eschermann, CTO, ABB Process Automation. “Digitalization can help deliver on these benefits, but digital ecosystems require a robust, secure and interoperable framework at the edge, connecting operations and information technologies. For ABB, a long-standing advocate of open automation systems, driving a forward-thinking collaborative initiative like Margo is key to achieving this goal.” Interoperability is key to digital transformation at scale "The more sources you get data from, the better the decisions you can make," explained Florian Schneeberger, CTO of ABB's Machine Automation division (B&R). "Yet, while the benefits of digitalization increase with scale, so do the challenges of navigating heterogeneous industrial ecosystems. That's why interoperability is so crucial to unlocking the full potential of digitalization. It empowers organizations to adopt and scale Industrial IoT solutions at full speed without large teams of IT specialists." ABB’s commitment In March 2024, ABB became a member of the Linux Foundation. This will enable the company to further enhance efforts in promoting open community collaboration, helping unlock innovation and enable better products and experiences for customers. This further strengthens ABB’s commitment to open standard-based systems. In a live panel discussion at the Hannover Messe, representatives from the six founding members met to present their vision for edge interoperability in the Industrial IoT and appeal to like-minded industry peers to join the community and contribute to building a meaningful and effective standard. 

ABB and CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, have identified significant energy-saving potential through a strategic research partnership focused on the cooling and ventilation system at one of the world’s leading laboratories for particle physics institutes, located in Geneva, Switzerland. The study included energy efficiency audits which have helped to identify a savings potential of 17.4 percent across a fleet of 800 motors. energy consumption roadmap The research, conducted between 2022 and 2023, followed an agreement between ABB and CERN. This saw the partners developing a roadmap for reducing the energy consumption of the site’s cooling and ventilation system via data-driven energy efficiency audits. It has identified potential annual energy savings of up to 31 gigawatt-hours (GWh). If achieved, these savings could be enough to power more than 18,000 European households and could avoid four kilotonnes of CO2 emission, the same as planting over 420,000 trees. Energy efficiency audits CERN and ABB experts assessed a wide variety of data from motors in various cooling and ventilation applications Energy efficiency audits work by evaluating the performance and efficiency of motors based on their operational data. Audits help large facilities like CERN to identify the most significant energy-saving opportunities across whole fleets of motors. CERN and ABB experts assessed a wide variety of data from motors in various cooling and ventilation applications. They combined data from multiple sources, including digitally connected motors, CERN’s SCADA system, and data gathered directly from their pumps, piping, and instrumentation. energy efficiency upgrades The experts analyzed the efficiency of the whole system to provide insights to pinpoint the motors with the best business case for energy efficiency upgrades. “We are proud to cooperate with CERN and support its ambition to conduct physics research with a low-carbon footprint, by helping them to achieve more energy-efficient operations of their cooling and ventilation systems,” said Erich Labuda, President of the Motion Services division at ABB. low-carbon society “This research project represents another step in CERN’s energy efficiency journey." "As an institution with a large installed base of motors, working with CERN is a great example of how we can support in making a big impact in improving energy efficiency as part of the transition to a low-carbon society.” minimizing environmental footprint Giovanni Anelli, Head of the Knowledge Transfer group at CERN said, “The collaboration with ABB was set up to optimize the laboratory’s cooling and ventilation infrastructure to reduce its energy consumption and is in line with CERN’s commitment to minimize its environmental footprint as well as to share the findings publicly for the greater impact on society." "It’s a great example of a collaboration where each side brings their contribution to the table. CERN brings its large-scale infrastructure and ABB contributes with its technology and service expertise." Cooling and ventilation systems "We are very happy with the final result of this research project as we have exceeded our goal of identifying a 10-15 percent energy efficiency improvement.” “Cooling and ventilation systems are a fantastic first place to look for energy efficiency upgrades,” Labuda elaborated. 64% energy-saving potential “This is because they are often overdesigned, being specified to operate at a maximum load way above the average. We found one pump motor at CERN with an energy-saving potential of 64 percent." "It is also important to not just evaluate motor efficiency, but the system as a whole including the fans, condensers, and cooling towers. This holistic approach supports the improvement of CERN’s overall energy efficiency and reliability.” condition monitoring solutions CERN’s next step is to create a roadmap for the upgrade of the first motors to the solutions recommended as part of the energy efficiency audit: IE5-rated Synchronous Reluctance Motors (SynRM) operating with variable speed drives (VSDs).  These motors will also be digitally connected, enabling condition monitoring solutions to accurately monitor their health and performance to ensure maximum uptime.