ARN BV (ARN) is a leading waste handling and recycling company with a waste-to-energy plant at Nijmegen in the Gelderland province of the Netherlands. The plant converts residual waste from commercial and domestic establishments into energy, fertilizer, and other reusable materials. ARN’s waste-to-energy plants help to drive a circular economy in the Netherlands and Europe. ARN’s plant, built in 1987, processes 300,000 tons of household and commercial waste annually to produce around 150,000 MWh of electricity for the public grid. It also generates 800 tera joules (TJ) of heat per year for the nearby water-treatment plant and district heating for households Waalfront and Waalsprong.
The plant has been using the ABB Ability™ Distributed Control System 800xA® since 2008. In June 2023, ABB upgraded the distributed control system (DCS) to a newer system version. “We have been supporting ARN’s waste-to-energy plant for decades and built strong relationships with their management and engineering teams,” said Alexander Gilles, Account Manager, ABB. “Our long-standing relationship and history of providing automation to the plant made us ARN’s choice to upgrade the DCS to our latest version.”
An easy call to make
For over 40 years, ABB has built and maintained a leadership position in the DCS market by preserving its customers’ control investments while providing new capabilities. ABB has installed more than 35,000 DCS in more than 100 countries.
Working closely with ARN, ABB was able to complete the DCS upgrade within 24 hours. The ABB Ability™ System 800xA® version 6.1.1 makes it easier for users to manage data, address security, improve engineering, enhance communications, and increase I/O capabilities. “It was an easy call to make for ARN to upgrade to our latest DCS that supports multiple Windows operating systems and has flexible update capabilities,” said Gilles. “The new version will allow ARN to update their DCS by section, over time, and online, while significantly reducing time and effort required.” This software version also enables full integration with ARN’s fire alarming system and PLC systems, showcasing that ABB Ability™ System 800xA® is not only a DCS but also a collaboration enabler, improving operator performance and asset utilization. Supported by an ABB Care agreement, ARN is also assured of enhanced asset availability, performance, and lifecycle through round-the-clock attention to assets, software, and cyber security.
“We value ABB’s knowledge and expertise in how DCS can help us improve productivity,” said Bas Willemssen, ARN. “This project has strengthened our ability to serve the Netherlands in important sustainable ways.”
As part of the full scope of supply, ABB performed an assessment on the current Operational Technology’s (OT) cyber security compliance to regulations, such as NIS2 and the ABB ICS Cyber Security Reference Architecture that serves as a blueprint to mitigate cyber security risks. After the assessment, ABB provided a recommendation report consisting of advice on the current OT situation and its identified gaps. This is implemented together with the upgrade, considering a cyber secure solution following the industry standards.
ABB ICS Cyber Security Reference Architecture document provides guidelines and recommendations for a proven and consistent cyber security approach towards planning, implementing, and deploying control system networks using industry best practices and IEC standards.
