Sherif El-Meshad, Digital Lead, Electrification at ABB, explores the ever-mounting business case for digitalisation and what ABB is doing to deliver on digital for industry
It is no surprise that industrial businesses are embracing sustainability in a big way. With almost a quarter (24.2 per cent) of global energy use attributed to industry1, its rapid decarbonisation is a critical component of our net zero future and remains the subject of new sustainable standards and regulations across the world.
Alongside this, is a sharpened focus on energy security. For years, traditional fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption – including oil and gas – have become increasingly expensive. Now, with disrupted energy trading resulting in energy price highs, industrial operators are placing greater onus on sustainability to mitigate the cost-impact and safeguard from further market volatility.
Digitalisation is a critical enabler of this energy transition. Yet the pace and scale of digital adoption within industry remains limited. So why aren’t more organisations doing it?
In 2022, ABB commissioned a global research study which asked more than 700 key decision-makers from 12 industrial sectors about their digital transformation and sustainability strategies. 96 per cent said digitalisation was essential to sustainability, but despite this figure, and the pandemic accelerating most companies’ digital plans, just 35 percent of those surveyed were implementing industrial IoT at scale.
To address this, it becomes important to explore why digitalisation must play a more important role in our new energy future, and what industry leaders, such as ABB, are doing to make it happen.
One of digitalisation’s lesser known, but most important uses, is its role in effective renewable integration.
As industry continues to make progress toward reducing emissions and energy costs by ramping up the pace and scale of renewable investments, the inherent variability of wind and solar pose some limitations.
Solar, for example, will only generate electricity in line with how much sunshine there is and will not always match the same profile of the electricity that a site is using. Used in silo, companies are left with having to top-up with electricity from the grid or waste any excess generated.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) offer the logical solution, enabling operators to store excess energy and redeploy it as required, supported by digital tools to regulate this new era of self-supply and demand.
As well as meeting sustainability goals, both renewable energy and BESS integrations are tangible outcomes which can be measured against digitalisation investment to show ROI and quantify savings achieved.
The energy transition, of course, isn’t just about transitioning to low carbon power sources but, equally, ensuring every single kilowatt (kw) of energy – whether self or centrally generated – works as hard as possible.
Through the latest in predictive analytics and machine learning techniques, digital technologies allow businesses to better manage process and controls by gaining visibility and insights into everything from the performance of equipment and plants through to energy demand and supply forecasts. Armed with this information, it becomes easier to make more informed, strategic decisions in all areas of operation and energy use, to optimise operations, reduce energy costs and, in turn, accelerate the path to carbon neutrality.
Moreover, the market continues to see a range of solutions which harness the analytic power of data for very specific energy purposes. For example, as an increasing share of global industry pivots to self-generation, the next generation of AI-enabled BESS will help maximise self-consumption through accurate demand and supply forecasting based on market, seasonal and operational conditions.
To make the most of digitalisation’s ability to accelerate the energy transition, it is important for businesses to have a thorough understanding of how it works and what exactly they would like to get out of it. However, because there are so many variables involved it can be difficult to understand the full scope of digital change.
It may be, for example, that the digital solution needs to be able to connect and leverage both outdated infrastructure and new investments, or support, an eventual shift towards a decentralised infrastructure, such as a microgrid.
That’s why ABB always works closely with each customer to understand both their current situation and their future needs to ascertain the best approach and substantiate the value – for example, projected energy reductions, efficiencies and operational optimisation. For ABB, digital transformation isn’t as much a destination but a journey, where businesses will take ongoing, iterative steps to improvement – underscored by a collaborative working relationship between technology partner and operator at each step of the way.
Inherently, cybersecurity can be a barrier to implementing IoT solutions at scale. After all, every connected device represents a potential risk and digital industrial assets are no different. Cybersecurity implications, such as identity fraud, information theft or even production sabotage, must be carefully considered and addressed at the product development phase.
At ABB, for example, cybersecurity was a key priority when starting our digital journey with our ABB Ability digital platform. That’s why we partner with companies like Microsoft who have invested a great deal in the security of their systems. We also add our own guidelines and test protocols as an additional layer to their rigorous security. This ensures industrial operators are more easily able to protect their digital assets and trust in the actionable insights they offer.
More so, for added peace of mind we offer customers starting out on their digital journey the option of using only local, on-site connectivity to begin with, before connecting to the cloud for more scalability whenever – and only if – they are ready.
It may be all too easy to assume that digitalisation is just about computers and other technology. However, it still needs human intervention to succeed. From developing the strategic focus and setting realistic goals, through to overseeing data procurement and analysis, there is a complex chain of process involved in digitalisation which typically requires a specialist skillset. To address this and bridge the knowledge gap between operating technology and information technology, ABB provides a learning portal with a range of training material to upskill the workforce.
As we look to the future of energy, there is no disputing the critical role that digitalisation will play. From helping industrial businesses ramp up the pace and scale of decarbonisation and informing energy strategies, through to changing behaviours and opening up a new energy-efficiency possibilities, the broader adoption of digitalisation will be the key to making sustainability a reality.
1Our World in Data – Emissions by Sector. September 2020. Sector by sector: where do global greenhouse gas emissions come from? – Our World in Data
