ABB urges for greater adoption of high-efficiency motors and drives to combat climate change

Power and automation technology major ABB on Tuesday urged the industry and government for greater adoption of high-efficiency motors and other technologies to combat climate change as they can reduce global electricity consumption by 10 per cent.

In a new whitepaper, "ABB reveals potential for significant energy efficiency improvements in industry and infrastructure enabled by the latest and most high-efficiency motors and variable speed drives. ABB calls on governments and industry to accelerate adoption of the technology to help combat climate change", a statement said.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), industry accounts for 37 per cent of global energy use and some 30 per cent of global energy is consumed in buildings, it stated.

While mostly hidden from public view, electric motors - and the variable speed drives which optimise their operation - are embedded in almost every built environment, it explained.

They power a vast range of applications fundamental to modern way of life, from industrial pumps, fans and conveyors for manufacturing and propulsion systems for transportation to compressors for electrical appliances and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in buildings, it further explained.

Motor and drive technologies have seen exceptionally rapid advancement in the past decade, with today's innovative designs delivering remarkable energy efficiencies.

However, it said that a significant number of industrial electric motor-driven systems in operation today - in the region of 300 million globally - are inefficient or consume much more power than required, resulting in monumental energy wastage.

Independent research estimates that if these systems were replaced with optimised, high-efficiency equipment, the gains to be realised could reduce global electricity consumption by up to 10 percent, it claimed.

In turn, this would account for more than 40 per cent of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions needed to meet the 2040 climate goals established by the Paris Agreement, it added.

"Industrial energy efficiency, more than any other challenge, has the single greatest capacity for combatting the climate emergency. It is essentially the world's invisible climate solution," said Morten Wierod, President ABB Motion.

"For ABB, sustainability is a key part of our company Purpose and of the value that we create for all of our stakeholders. By far the biggest impact we can have in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is through our leading technologies, which reduce energy use in industry, buildings and transport."

Considerable steps have already been taken to support the uptake of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources.

ABB believes it is time to do the same for an industrial technology that will deliver even greater benefits for the environment and the global economy.

"The importance of transitioning industries and infrastructure to these highly energy efficient drives and motors to play their part in a more sustainable society cannot be overstated," continued Morten Wierod.

"With 45 per cent of the world's electricity used to power electric motors in buildings and industrial applications, investment in upgrading them will yield outsized rewards in terms of efficiency."