Technology Can Create the Path to a Sustainable Future
ABB is a Business Reporter client.
Accelerating deployment of efficient technology is the key to decarbonization.
There are no easy solutions to the climate change challenges we face today. However, we do have technologies that are already moving us in the right direction, and it is our responsibility to accelerate their deployment.
Here are four approaches focused on industrial electric motors that I believe will serve as major stepping stones on the journey to sustainability and net zero.
Energy efficiency: technology available today
Greater efficiency is a clear decarbonization win. Using less energy increases our energy security, helps bring down prices and reduces our carbon footprint. We are already seeing the impact of current EU Ecodesign and energy labeling rules, for example. They are delivering a 10% annual reduction in energy consumption by the affected products.
However, we can go much further on efficiency. For example, industrial motors currently use 45% of the world’s electricity. When it comes to improving efficiency, the focus has tended to be on smaller motors. Yet we shouldn’t forget about large industrial motors: Although fewer than 1% of electric motors are classified as “large,” they account for 23% of all electricity consumed by motors globally.
Studies have shown that for a 20-megawatt (MW) motor and drive package, it is during operation that more than 99% of its total lifetime CO2 emissions are produced. Since a large motor might last up to 25 years, increasing operational efficiency is clearly vital. The larger the motor, the greater the contribution energy-efficiency measures can make.
Furthermore, if facilities using large motors switch to top industrial efficiency (TIE) options, they can significantly reduce both their carbon emissions and energy bills throughout the life of the motor. This makes both financial and environmental sense. Fortunately, as we found in our recent global survey, almost all (97%) industrial businesses are investing or plan to invest in improving energy efficiency.
Keeping decarbonized power grids stable
Decarbonization is driving the transition toward renewable resources such as wind and solar power while large-scale fossil fuel plants are being decommissioned. There is a downside though, as our existing power plants provide spinning inertia which helps keep electricity grids stable. This is something renewable energy cannot do, so we need to find ways to replace this inertia.
One answer is to use synchronous condensers, a technology that is like a cross between a large motor and a generator. Using only a small amount of electricity to keep them spinning, synchronous condensers can be installed at strategic locations across power grids where inertia is needed. This solution is currently being deployed in the UK, the Faroe Islands and Australia, among other regions, to help advance the move to renewable power.
Producing green hydrogen
Hydrogen, which produces no greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when burned, is creating great excitement as the “fuel of the future.” We see hydrogen playing a key role in energy transformation, with demand increasing as much as 10x by 2050. This could represent around 18% of final energy demand, removing around 6 gigatons of carbon emissions each year.
However, most of the world’s hydrogen is currently produced from fossil fuels. This “gray” hydrogen is very far from green. In fact, the process releases 830 megatons of CO2emissions a year. If the hydrogen industry were a country, it would be the world’s sixth-largest emitter. One way to address this is through carbon capture, a process in which motors and drives play a vital role.
Hydrogen comes in many other “colors” including blue, brown and pink. We are currently beginning to decarbonize the process by producing green hydrogen from water using electricity from wind and solar power. This is a special focus for ABB. Furthermore, we have also developed high-efficiency motors and drives that are well suited for compressing gas for transportation. Right now, we are working with a global leader in compressor technology to bring new innovations to the field.
Developing a circular economy
As a society, we cannot continue to advance with a linear take-make-waste economy. The sustainable alternative is a circular economy, and ABB is committed to making this a reality. By 2030, at least 80% of our products and solutions will be covered by our circularity approach. This includes evaluation against a clear set of key performance indicators corresponding to each stage of the product life cycle.
In partnership with a major recycling company, we are now able to provide end-of-life services for our motors and generators in Northern Europe. A large motor or generator is 98% recyclable, with the remaining 2% of materials incinerated for heat recovery. As we have factories in this region, we can use the recycled material in our new motors.
Sustainable technologies are available today that can make a real and immediate difference. What is needed is the vision and commitment to put them into practice—and if industry is going to play its part in reaching a net-zero future, there is no other option.
— Heikki Vepsäläinen, Division President, Large Motors and Generators, ABB
This article originally appeared in Business Reporter.
Image: Courtesy of ABB
