Energy Efficiency
Efficiency is ABB’s Business
Soaring energy prices and concern about climate change have propelled energy efficiency
to the top of the agenda in the boardroom, in public debate and in public policy.
Only 20 percent of available energy creates economic value. The rest is lost in the process
of burning fuels, transmitting electricity and inefficient end use. As the global leader in power
transmission and distribution technology and a leading automation company, ABB can help
achieve energy savings across the energy value chain.
ABB has solutions for raising efficiency from the wellhead to the plug. Technologies pioneered
by ABB enhance mining productivity, cut transportation emissions, optimize power plant
operations, reduce losses in electricity transmission, and in a vast array of industry processes.
Taken together, ABB technologies can improve efficiency by 20 to 30 percent across the entire
electricity value chain.
In industries like automotive, building, chemicals, consumer, life sciences, manufacturing,
marine, metals, minerals, pulp and paper, petroleum, transportation and utilities, ABB’s energy
efficient products, systems and services help customers produce and deliver more for each unit
of energy they use.
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ABB, Power and Productivity for a Better World
Motors and Variable Speed Drives
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ABB is the world’s largest maker of electric motors and motor control devices known as
variable speed drives. Industrial motors use about 30 percent of all the electricity produced in
the world, but fewer than 10 percent are equipped with the most efficient speed control that
exists. As a result, the motors are run at full speed and then throttled to reduce output ­­– similar
to driving a car with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake. ABB calculates
that its variable speed drives currently installed globally eliminate more than 100 million tons
of greenhouse gas emissions annually, roughly equivalent to the emissions of 41 million cars
on the streets of Europe. ABB’s variable speed drives can save 20-70 percent on energy,
depending on the application.
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ABB’s high efficiency motors deliver big cost savings in addition to energy savings because,
irrespective of size, motors normally consume their own capital cost in energy after just 30
days of continuous operation.
Two of the most important objectives confronting industry (and indeed society as a whole
are financial success and environmental responsibility – goals that are often perceived to be
in contradiction. When it comes to energy however, whether electric or fuel, and whether in
exploration, generation, distribution or usage, saved resources really do translate into cost savings.
While ABB’s biggest contribution to saving energy comes from its focus on designing products
that help customers use energy more efficiently, the company has a program for reducing
its own energy use that will both cut costs and lower its impact on the environment. ABB is
also promoting energy efficiency as a member of organizations such as the World Business
Council for Sustainable Development, which are committed to fostering economic growth and
development while limiting emissions of greenhouse gases.
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ABB, Power and Productivity for a Better World
Did you know…?
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ABB is the world’s largest maker of variable speed drives, which help cut energy
consumption by up to 70 percent by adjusting their speed to the required performance.
Today, only about 10% of industrial motors are fitted with variable speed drives, so the
untapped potential energy savings are enormous.
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ABB is the market leader for key energy-saving technologies in emerging economies, where
the energy-efficiency potential is the greatest. In China and India, ABB is the market leader
for power transmission and distribution technology and the leading supplier to the emerging
industrial sectors.
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ABB pioneered the “life cycle assessment,” a cradle-to-grave evaluation of the environmental
impact of a given product. LCA looks, among other things, at how much energy it takes to
produce, use, maintain and dispose of the given piece of equipment. The results are published
in Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), which have become a de facto requirement for
doing business in the EU and elsewhere.
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ABB is the world’s largest supplier of the electrical heart of wind turbines. The company has a
global market share of 25 percent for generators and 35 percent for low- and medium-voltage
equipment.
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ABB was instrumental in helping to draft the U.S. Department of Energy’s new efficiency
requirements for distribution transformers, which will impact upwards of 20 million such
devices working on the U.S. grid today. The cumulative energy savings over the course of the
28-year upgrade plan will be equivalent to the output of six 400MW power plants.
ABB, Power and Productivity for a Better World
ABB in Action
Drives: UK bank turns efficiency into ‘cool’ cash
The average business spends about $22,000 in air conditioning costs per year. Coutts & Co.,
a London-based private bank, cut its energy bill for running the air-conditioning system by
90 percent after installing four variable speed drives from ABB. One 4kW, one 22kW and two
75kW drives are now driving the pumps for chilled, hot and condenser water, as well as medium
pressure water for the boiler room. Annual cost savings are estimated at $170,000.
Motors: Vail Resorts recycle energy from top to bottom
The ski areas of Breckenridge and Sugarbush are separated by thousands of miles, but they
share the distinction of being the first resorts in the US to install AC motors on their chairlift
systems. Supplied by ABB and equipped with variable speed drives, the lifts actually recycle
energy during braking and downloading that would otherwise be lost. The highly efficient systems
save the resort owners as much as 40% over alternative motors, and can deliver full power to the
lifts even in 80% brownout conditions.
Ship Propulsion: ABB’s Azipod delivers
20% fuel savings for ShinNihonkai Ferry
Fitted outside the vessel, ABB’s Azipod can revolve 360 degrees and functions as a combined
rudder and motor. The elimination of a driveshaft increases available space inside the ship
while also reducing noise and vibration. In 2004, ShinNihonkai Ferry, Japan’s leading ferry
operator, introduced two new vessels on two of its popular ferry routes. The Azipod-equipped
ships offered 15 percent more transportation capacity, but the big news came in fuel efficiency.
After several months of data collection, the company reported fuel savings of 20 percent over
comparable vessels on the same routes. As a passenger craft, the reduced noise and vibration
were added benefits.
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ABB, Power and Productivity for a Better World
ABB in Action continued
Offshore Power: BP’s Valhall platform gets a ‘lifeline’
Oil and gas platforms are like cities in the middle of the ocean, complete with their own
supplies of electricity generated on-site. A new trend in offshore is to replace the gas turbines
and other equipment on the platform with an HVDC Light system to bring in power from
shore. ABB is building such a system for BP’s Valhall platform in the North Sea. Due to be
commissioned next year, the cable will deliver 78 MW of power from the Norwegian mainland,
over 180 miles away. The elimination of on-site generation will reduce weight and footprint on
the platform, cut maintenance costs by $7 million per year, and allow the gas that would have
been used for the turbines to be sold to customers. It will also eliminate 300,000 tons of CO2
emissions every year, equivalent to taking around 75,000 cars off the road.
German plant recycles waste into clean heat and power
ABB is supplying a complete power and automation solution for a new waste-to-energy power
plant, the largest of its kind in Germany. The plant will generate clean heat and power for one
of the biggest chemical and pharmaceutical parks in Europe.
Process Control: Expert Optimizer™ wins efficiency award
ABB’s Expert Optimizer software was selected by judges from Global Cement and Global Fuels
magazines in February 2008 as the “most innovative technology for electrical energy efficiency.”
Expert Optimizer allows cement plants to reduce energy consumption by optimizing equipment
such as mills, kilns and coolers, and implementing optimal schedules for the most efficient use
of assets such as the grinding plant. Monitoring of energy consumption is carried out by the
system in conjunction with ABB’s Knowledge Manager solution.
Cement is one of the most energy-intensive industries, accounting for about 4 percent of global
CO2 emissions. ABB’s technology can reduce the energy consumption of cement plants by
about 5 percent simply by improving control over various plant processes.
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ABB, Power and Productivity for a Better World
Ask an Expert
Greg Scheu (pronounced shy)
Senior Vice President
and head of Power Products division,
North America
Greg was appointed head of ABB’s Power Products division for North America in February 2008.
He has been a member of the company’s Executive Committee in North America since 2002.
Prior to this appointment, Greg served as the president of ABB’s Automation Products division in
North America. He previously served as Global Senior Vice President of eBusiness for ABB Ltd at
the company’s global headquarters in Zurich.
Prior to joining ABB, Greg held positions at Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Rockwell
Automation, and Source Alliance LLC, an online electrical and automation equipment supplier.
Greg earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware. He
serves on the Industrial Control board of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and
on the board of North Carolina State University’s BTE Center.
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ABB, Power and Productivity for a Better World
Ask an Expert
Rick Hepperla
Regional Division Manager
Automation Products,
ABB North America
Rick is responsible for leading the Automation Products division in North America. He serves as a
member of both the North America Executive Committee and the Global AP Division management
team. His responsibilities include the strategic development and continued, profitable growth of
Automation Products in the region.
Rick joined ABB in December, 2003 as Vice President and General Manager for ABB’s Low
Voltage Drives business in the USA. He has over 26 years of experience in the automation
products market. Prior to joining ABB, Rick spent 17 years with Rockwell Automation, a leading
global automation company based in North America, and five years with MagneTek, Inc., a North
America producer of motors, machines and drives. During his tenure at ABB Low Voltage Drives,
Rick successfully orchestrated a turnaround of the business that resulted in doubling its revenue
from 2004 to 2007.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Marquette University,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is based in New Berlin, Wisconsin.
Media Contact:
Bob Fesmire,
Media Relations Manager, ABB Inc.
Ph: 408-857-1394
E-mail: bob.fesmire@us.abb.com
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ABB, Power and Productivity for a Better World