Company visit to ABB sustainable production site in Ede
ABB makes factory and office in Ede carbon neutral
In follow-up to the Lunch webinar "Ready for 2030? Intelligent data help sustainable on 17-01 last, ABB has invited us for a company visit.
ABB wanted to explain in more detail and on the spot how intelligent data played an important role in making its production site in Ede more sustainable.
This will enable ABB to meet its 2030 sustainability goals.
Participants in the lunch webinar are the first to be invited to join this company visit.
How do you realise a sustainable and future-proof factory?
Over the past six years, ABB transformed its factory and office building in Ede into a CO2-neutral (production) site.
The stakes: a large number of energy-saving measures, digitalisation, advanced energy management and climate control and own generation. Not an easy task and they have learned a lot from this transformation.
They are happy to share this knowledge during the Knowledge Afternoon 'How to realise a future-proof factory and/or office building' to help you too make the step towards a future-proof and sustainable (production) site.
Mission to Zero
According to the Climate Agreement,CO2 emissions must be 51% lower than in 1990 by 2030. ABB is doing more. All its (production) sites around the world will be fullyCO2 neutral by 2030. With the practical experience gained at sites in China, Finland and Germany, ABB's 'Mission to Zero' concept will be continued in Ede. The transformation will be achieved by combining digital technologies with measures to reduce energy consumption and by using renewable energy sources.
Monitoring and control in the factory
The factory has a floor area of 11,400 square metres. Millions of installation boxes and thousands of distribution boxes, are produced every year. In the factory, all 75 machines are equipped with EQ energy meters, which allow precise monitoring of energy consumption in combination with ABB Ability Energy Manager. (See the short video demo at the bottom of the page).
In this way, we monitor energy down to machine level and gain insight per batch of products. We also look at machine level to see how and where savings can be made. For example, by lowering the temperature in manufacturing. This can reduce energy consumption by 30%.
All hydraulic drives have been replaced by electric ones. As a result, 75% less energy is used in manufacturing for every kilogram of product. Advanced robots are also used.
Building management system
Replacing all (emergency) lighting with LED reduces energy consumption by 85 MWh per year. The 1,250 solar panels will generate 213 MWh. Furthermore, a smart building management system will be installed next year that, for instance, adjusts the intensity of lighting to the amount of sunlight and only switches on lighting and heating when people are present in a room. This will make use of the intelligent control technologies Cylon and KNX already in use.
Sustainable
In Ede, ABB has 11 AC charging points for electric vehicles for employees and visitors and 1 DC fast charger. Currently, 25% of the vehicle fleet is already electric, a transition that is being accelerated.
The electricity purchased is 100% green and the approximately 80,000 m³ of gas currently used in the plant will be CO₂ offset by certificates from a wind farm in South Dakota (USA) until mid-2023. In 2023, a heat/cold storage facility will be realised, which stores heat generated during the production process underground for heating in winter time. This will make the plant completely gas-free.
ABB is the first in the market to use recycled plastics in production. Of all products now leaving the plant, an average of 27% are produced with recycled raw materials.
Partners need
Despite all the technological knowledge ABB has in-house, this whole process would not have been possible without partners. They brought in additional technical knowledge, also know what's going on locally and who to contact at a municipality or province to make quicker steps. During our previous Mission to Zero transformations, we discovered that technology is vital for real-time monitoring and management of energy consumption, emissions and costs, and thus for reducing a site's carbon footprint.
Bringing employees on board
It is important to include all employees in the process from the start. This creates support for changes and encourages people to think faster about better and practical solutions. After all, you cannot think of everything in advance. In practice, you come across obstacles that were perhaps not foreseen. You have to remove them. And you need everyone to do that.
Insights
We have learned that it is important to free up a responsible project manager for the transition from the start and to involve all your employees. Not only to create support for changes, but this will help them think along more quickly in better and practical solutions.
ABB will launch a campaign in the Netherlands entitled 'Naar zero C02 - Ga je mee?' With this, we call on suppliers, customers, but also other suppliers to join us in thinking about the goal of reducing CO2 emissions and reducing energy consumption as much as possible. Energy savings cannot be achieved alone.
As a company, you operate in a product chain of suppliers and customers. The government is also an important partner. After all, you run up against all kinds of legislation. Not only time-consuming, but sometimes complex procedures. We like to share our knowledge and learning points and ask both the market and the companies on the company site in Ede to put more in motion.
With the "Mission to Zero" concept, we now have a proven blueprint that we hope will be adopted by other organisations to reduce 20 per cent of global carbon emissions coming from the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
Participation
This Knowledge Afternoon: "How to realise a future-proof factory and/or office building?" is an exclusive event for professionals, dealing with energy management and sustainability of factories and/or office buildings. Given the space available, a limited number of places are available. Are you interested? Then register quickly using the form.
We look forward to meeting you on 04 April in Ede.
KIVI Electrical Engineering
Links
Take a look at our location in Ede here.
ABB Ability Energy & Asset Management
A short demonstration of the various possibilities.
