According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy efficiency is the most important lever we have at our disposal for achieving climate targets. Electrification, efficient drive technology and intelligent digital systems for consumption and all energy flows reduce energy and resource consumption while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Technologies such as frequency inverters and the latest motor designs in efficiency classes IE4 and IE5, as well as smart components for medium and low voltage applications from ABB offer tremendous opportunities for a world striving for greater energy efficiency. Improved efficiency need not be achieved at the expense of raw material requirements – a fact that is underscored by the absence of magnets and rare earths in the construction of our motors.

ABB also provides the right solutions for the intelligent management of all energy flows. The ABB Ability™ Energy and Asset Manager helps users identify and understand inefficiencies, vulnerabilities and interrelationships by enabling them to record, analyze and visualize the energy flow of individual plants and entire sites.

For sustainable production, it is crucial to switch carbon-intensive processes to electrical energy and invest in renewables. ABB plays a key role in reducing energy losses in sustainable DC power grids, electrifying industrial processes and developing low-carbon fuels. This applies to thermal processes in energy-intensive sectors in particular. ABB offers efficient thyristor-based power controllers for carbon-neutral electrical heating. The growing hydrogen economy is also indispensable to the comprehensive decarbonization of industry. This clean, renewable fuel can lower dependence on fossil fuels and reduce environmental pollution. Its reliable DC technology makes ABB an established engineering and integration partner for the production of green hydrogen by means of electrolysis. Sustainable DC power grids also benefit from the new SACE Infinitus, a semiconductor circuit breaker from ABB with a life span of 100 times that of conventional interrupters. A reduction in energy losses of up to 70 percent provides the basis for maximum energy efficiency across the entire value chain.

Circular economy

However, the sustainable, regenerative production of energy is not enough. It is also important to rethink how resources are used. Sustainable products, solutions and services must be based on the circular economy. ABB has set itself the goal of ensuring that 80 percent of its products and solutions comply with the circular economy concept by 2030. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) provide information about environmental impacts, circularity and carbon emission mitigation potential in the lifecycle of products. With EcoSolutions, we have developed a concept that transfers the circular economy concept to products by communicating the environmental impact and the circularity of the products themselves in a transparent and measurable way, thus setting a new benchmark for circularity.

Smart products and intelligent processes for digitalization with added value

It would be impossible to successfully implement sustainability without digitalization. It enables companies to optimize their production processes and use resources more efficiently and makes it possible to monitor and inspect emission sources more effectively. It allows operators to remotely monitor systems and machines and perform preventative maintenance tasks. ABB provides the necessary tools for digitalizing all areas of production.

Intelligent software solutions also expand the capabilities of industrial hardware, such as condition monitoring, increased productivity and intelligent control. ABB’s services provide operators with extensive features aimed at improving efficiency and monitoring conditions.