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Industrial sustainability software solutions

Digital solutions to save energy costs, optimize consumption and environmental, social and governance (ESG)  reporting

Industrial sustainability with ABB:  Our offering  |  Expert insights |  Your journey  |  Analyst views  |  Testimonials  |    Cyber security  | Digital transformation

If you are looking to deliver on sustainability commitments in process industries:
  • centralize data collection to create transparency
  • improve processes and energy recovery systems to decrease consumption
  • integrate renewable generation and substitute fuels to use sustainable energy
  • optimize supply and demand to decrease energy cost
  • embrace new business models for low CO2 products

ABB sustainability strategy 2030

Let's talk

Our offering

Embed sustainability at your core and realize your full potential through systems integration


by solution type
by industry
Energy Management

Reduce energy & utilities costs
Energy Optimization

Optimize demand & supply
Emissions monitoring

Reduce ESG compliance risk
Mining
Data Centers
Cement
Food & Beverage
Metals
Manufacturing
Pulp and paper
New energies

Expert Insights

Q&A with Sanjit Shewale
Will the AI & ML help cement producers meet emissions and sustainability KPIs?
Kirkland Lake Gold's former CEO Tony Makuch
"Sustainability, innovation and culture will forge the next generation of mining"
Pulp & paper example
Software helps shift production to times when energy is cheaper
LKAB
ABB helps maximize energy efficiency at future fossil-free steel pilot
Article
Taking control of sugar plant emissions
Pilot project with ST Telemedia
AI modelling for data center energy optimization in Singapore
First EPA validated system
Using artificial intelligence to reduce emissions
by Jan Nyqvist
Underground mine ventilation: how to improve safety and half energy costs
by Abhijit Badwe
ABB software helps reduce steam, fuel & chemical consumption in pulp mills
Hydrogen - the key to a low-carbon future
Podcast with Peter Terwiesch
"Digitalization is the new tool to tackle climate change"
Imperial College
Carbon capture & storage pilot plant runs hundreds of scenarios & experiments
Data analytics for metals
How to optimize utilization of byproduct gases in iron and steelmaking
Optimal use of the vessel’s total power resources
Article
Redefining industrial operations KPIs for more energy savings
By Tarun Mathur
Increase productivity, reduce energy consumption in iron and steelmaking processes
Steelmaking example
Automatically optimizing production schedule against electricity costs
Data analytics for metals
How to optimize utility costs in steelmaking

Your Sustainability journey

Designing, deploying and maintaining the optimal site-wide or enterprise-wide energy management and emission control strategy is a large engineering and operational challenge, one that requires a wide span of competencies, engineering tools, architecture approaches and service capabilities in order to identify the most performing and cost-effective solution for each process area and site. Typical steps and modular approach for deploying a digital solution such as energy management are:

  • Monitor: Monitoring energy usage at plant and process level with real-time visual displays and data
  • Identify: Identify best performance of process areas and opportunities for improvement
  • Report: Report energy consumption patterns of process areas and production lines
  • Analyze: Analyze inefficiencies in plant and process areas
  • Alarm: Alarm capabilities – enable corrective measures to be taken immediately
  • Forecast: Forecast energy consumption schedules for process areas based on production plans and measured consumption
  • Optimize: Solve economic real-time optimization problems consisting of own generation, trading and using of energy in industrial plants and power plants

A multitude of research is ongoing in areas such as process-specific data models and simulations, carbon capture, utilization and storage, or making green hydrogen a financially feasible option. Encouragingly, this will help process industries shift towards completely new ways of improving energy efficiency, reducing energy cost and carbon footprint. Increased complexity calls for digital solution partners mastering very different technologies, industry-specific processes and cybersecurity.

The whole energy ecosystem is evolving enabled by digital

Today we are able to establish a single source of truth system for all data related to regulatory compliance, emission optimization, energy mix planning, consumption and conversion, covering not only electricity, but fuel gases, cryogenics, cogeneration gases, water, waste, and any critical resources for circular economy and related optimization.

72%

of companies are increasing investment in Industrial IoT
specifically to address sustainability aims 


 


Industrial IoT solutions and sustainability

ABB study

Analyst and ABB views

IoT Analytics
ARC Advisory Group
McKinsey

Most current IoT projects can contribute to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and UN’s 2030 mission

IoT Analytics
"An analysis of more than 640 IoT deployments, conducted in a collaboration between IoT Analytics and the World Economic Forum, showed that 84% of existing IoT deployments can address the SDGs. Why is the impact of IoT so large? At its core, IoT is about measuring and remotely controlling previously unconnected “things”. It reaches people and objects that older technology could not."
ABB Energy management solutions can be standalone or can be offered together with other systems.
The Internet of Things is a game-changer for sustainability. Identifying sustainability goals and adopting an impact measurement framework will reveal opportunities for replicating successful solutions across untapped areas.

Manufacturing sustainability at the center of investment strategies

ARC Advisory Group
"Industrial manufacturers and producers have long understood the importance of environmental and social responsibility, and governance often referred to as "sustainability." However, recent developments in the investor community have sparked new interest in this area. Climate change is almost invariably the top issue raised by clients around the world. This will result in a significant reallocation of capital."
Many companies are now aligning corporate sustainability goals with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Leading manufacturing companies are beginning to formulate well-thought-out strategies to manage sustainability proactively.

Environmentally sustainable operations require companies to act tactically and strategically

McKinsey
"Operational excellence and environmental sustainability are closely aligned. The most efficient companies are those that generate the most value from the fewest resources, whether those resources are labor and capital or energy, carbon emissions, scarce materials, and clean water."
Resource-productive operations focus on both value and sustainability

There has been significant growth in the number of companies applying these approaches as they develop sustainability-driven production systems in their own operations. The rapid evolution of digital manufacturing approaches and Industry 4.0 is making these five principles even more powerful, more flexible, and easier to use.

Set ambitious sustainability goals beyond the benchmarking trap


Reduce
CO2 emissions

~45%

by 2030


Reduce energy, water,
raw material use

~10%


Recycle
waste

~70%

by 2030


Transition to
new energy sources

 

Mitigate
energy price fluctuations

 

Sell energy, certificates,
services to the grid

 
Let's talk




Testimonials

A CARTON BOARD MILL
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"“ABB's energy management solution is good. I know companies offering similar products, but in my opinion, the ABB one is the best."

Franz Fuchs, MMK Frohnleiten mill

Industrial demand-side energy management in Mayr-Melnhof Karton cartonboard mill

Mayr-Melnhof Karton (MMK) is the world’s largest producer of coated recycled cartonboard. As with most industrial sites, energy costs have a significant impact on operations.

The electricity spot price in Austria is highly volatile, so if electricity use can be dynamically scheduled to low-price periods, significant cost savings can be achieved. The required solution needs to adjust to the electricity price, and take all relevant process restrictions and production targets into account. Industrial Demand Side Energy Management with intelligent planning optimizes operation according to electricity spot price, providing power consumption forecast for electricity purchase. Intermediate storage ensures that neither pulp nor paper production is interrupted or reduced, able to serve as a virtual battery, to be charged and discharged according to the electricity price.


FOREST INDUSTRY GROUP

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“ABB’s collaborative approach, global technology leadership and digital expertise was key to our decision to choose them as our partner. Their foresight of what we want to achieve through this digitalization project will bring new levels of efficiency in our operations and create an even more desirable workplace of continuous learning for this and the next generation of workers.”

Magnus Björkman, President of Södra Cell Business Area

Södra selects ABB for digital transformation partnership to create the optimal pulp mill of the future

Södra, Sweden's largest forest owners association and an international forest industry group, appoints ABB to optimize performance, efficiency and sustainability across its mills with the aim of creating a new benchmark for both the forest and pulp industry, and the broader industry, globally.

ABB and Södra have entered a long-term, strategic partnership to co-develop a roadmap to drive new levels of efficiency, engagement and digitalization across Södra’s enterprise to ultimately define the next generation mill.

Södra’s intent is to build its digital capabilities and increase efficiency, sustainability and circular resource utilization throughout the value chain using the full industrial digitalization technology stack including ABB’s 800xA Distributed Control System (DCS), advanced software applications to maximize visibility, reliability, productivity and energy efficiency and ABB Ability™ Genix Industrial Analytics and AI Suite, a platform with the ability to collate and contextualize data from diverse sources

A CEMENT PLANT

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“Previously we found it difficult juggling all the hydrate injection points with other pressing plant distractions. Now it is all handled by Expert Optimizer” - to minimize violations of SO2 emissions while reducing hydrate consumption

Wolfgang Schulz, Plant Operator at CEMEX

ABB Ability™ Expert Optimizer improved SO2 emission control at a CEMEX plant in Germany

The CEMEX plant located in Rüdersdorf, Germany, already utilizing ABB’s Expert Optimizer on their RMP, mills and kiln, approached ABB to improve their emissions control system. The ultimate challenge was to reduce deviation around the operating target for daily SO2 emission.
ABB utilized established advanced process control techniques to reduce emission variability. This allowed the plant to run closer to targets and constraints, ensuring zero emission violations while decreasing unnecessary hydrate overdosing and consumption. 

The controller reduced operator workload by automatically optimizing the short-term exhaust SO2 target based on the current daily average. There are two optimization modes that allow the operator to select either normal or aggressive optimization, based on whether to target the daily average below the limit at the end of the day or within the next 30 minutes. ABB Ability™ Expert Optimizer automatically adjusts the multiple feeder points of lime hydrate to ensure the SO2 and HCL targets are stringently met.
AN UNDERGROUND MINE
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“The ventilation control with empirical model has been shown to reduce energy requirements by up to 50%.”


Healthy working environment and energy savings with digital optimization-APC at Chilean mine

In underground mines, air is polluted by diesel vehicles and blasting activity. Mine ventilation is an energy consuming and complicated business, which means there is a large potential to save energy and cost in this area.

Remote control of equipment, ventilation demands based on 176 sensors, 100+ regulators/gates, Smart Air, tracking system inputs – with multivariable control models.

Ventilation on demand integrated with 3rd party location system, traffic control and fire detection system.

A digital model of ventilation system calculates optimal set points for all components / given demand, with feedback control

A LARGE STEELMAKING SITE
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"We chose to work with ABB because there was no other supplier with an equivalent industrial-scale product.”

Site-wide optimization of gas and other energy assets for steelmaking process

At a steel plant with annual capacity of up to 5 million tons, complex distribution networks for electricity, steam, by-product gases and imported fuels make up to 20% of production cost

Assists gas dispatching, calculates optimal power production based on real-time data and adapted to power market

Optimizes energy consumption and secures energy availability considering steam yield, consumption of by-product gases, energy purchase and production including site power plants and turbines

More references by industry








Cyber security and data ownership

Industrial cyber security guide
ABB's industrial sustainability software solutions support all the deployment variants needed: on premise, on ABB managed or customer manages cloud, on customer private cloud / data center. You own your data. We ensure defence in depth cyber security, data protection, reliability, privacy, intellectual property.

The Cyber Security Reference Architecture is an ABB-developed design standard for industrial systems and associated security controls. ABB engineering teams use the architecture during system deployments, and ABB service units use it to update and modernize existing customer networks to bring them in line with current cyber security standards and best practices.

ABB Ability™ digital services have successfully improved the cyber security of industrial sites across the globe. Many customers have scheduled risk assessments as part of their ongoing annual service agreements, while others have implemented cyber security analytics dashboards to continuously monitor, diagnose and resolve security issues.
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Compliance

ABB’s security measures in the Reference Architecture meet or exceed IEC 62443-3-3 security level 2 (SL2) as defined in foundational requirement section 5 (RE5). It also aligns with other common standards such as the NIST framework, ISO 27001 and NERC-CIP. Implementing the reference architecture does not guarantee passage of external certification audits; however, ABB can support compliance for specific security standards with additional recommendations.

Digital transformation partnership: you think big, we get practical.

For every industrial operation ambitious about Industry 4.0, ABB has built a framework to help drive and manage a complex change.
Let's get practical...
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