PCD3.W340 The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its sixth comprehensive assessment report, Climate Change 2023. The report points out that the global climate is undergoing unprecedented changes, and about 1.07 ° C of the average global surface temperature increase since industrialization is caused by human activities.

As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the pace and scale of global carbon reduction efforts to date are insufficient to address climate change. To limit warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by nearly half by 2030. A sustainable future is possible only if humanity takes immediate action to accelerate the speed and intensity of carbon reduction.

Facing the increasingly urgent low-carbon requirements of the environment and the market, it is urgent for enterprises to reduce carbon. According to the Schneider Electric Institute for Business Value’s “Run to Evergreen – Executive Insight into Carbon Neutrality and Sustainability” report, compared with 2021, the number of surveyed companies with a clear carbon neutral timeline in 2022 has increased significantly from 39% to 54%.

Since the motivation and the goal are both, where should the first step of the enterprise tPCD3.W340 o reduce carbon begin?

Integration of energy and automation

Leverage the first step in carbon reduction

As we all know, the use of energy is a major source of carbon emissions. Reducing carbon starts with “looking at” the home, which includes not only a company’s energy management, but also its automation systems. For a variety of practical reasons, power management and process automation have always existed independently throughout the entire life cycle of a plant.

For example, the energy power system and automation system of a large number of cement enterprises have been independently designed and run in parallel for a long time, without interaction, so that data can not flow, and each system is an information island. Similar scenarios also include power distribution systems and process automation systems in refining and chemical plants, hospital power monitoring systems and medical environment monitoring systems, commercial building power distribution systems and building automation systems, etc. These energy power systems and automation systems are disconnected and isolated from each other, seriously affecting production operations and carbon reduction efficiency.

Have enterprises optimized energy efficiency while pursuing high efficiency and high quality automaPCD3.W340 tion systems?

Will the energy conservation and emission reduction measures of the enterprise affect the efficiency and quality of the automation system process?

In the past, we didn’t know. As a result of these blind spots, many investment and transformation measures seem to be placed on a seeshift board, rather than a smooth balance.

Especially in recent years, affected by rising energy costs, low-carbon development requirements and other factors, in the past, the enterprise’s energy power system and automation control system have been unable to meet the needs of maximizing the use of energy and resources. The pressure to reduce CAPex and OPex is driving integration between process automation and power management, which can generate significant benefits. Therefore, the deep integration of “energy” and “automation” is the starting point for industrial carbon reduction.

This means that the first step in reducing carbon:

First of all, we must collect data at the physical level, open up the energy management and automation system, and achieve data interconnection; On this basis, not only for energy management, but also for automation processes and equipment to improve efficiency, thereby further improving energy efficiency.

In fact, the industry has also realized that there is a huge potential for carbon reduction in energy and automation efficiency. In a global corporate sustainability survey conducted by Schneider Electric in 2022, the majority of executives surveyed said that “upgrading electrical infrastructure” and “increasing industrial automation” would be sustainability priorities over the next three years.

Digitalization as’ convergence point ‘

Connecting the two domains

So how do you combine the two to achieve operational efficiency and energy efficiency? Technological developments provide the answer. According to the International Energy Agency, 70 percent of global carbon emissions could be addressed with existing technologies. Among them, the most economical, safe and effective technology is digital technology.

First, on the basis of connecting the two major fields of energy and automation, digitalization makes data visible and provides a fulcrum for the integration of the two. The interconnected intelligent hardware and comprehensive software system can comprehensively collect automation and energy data in real time, covering raw material procurement, automated production line, machinery and equipment, lighting and ventilation, air conditioning system, warehousing and logistics and other major processes, and build a unified “data integration center” for enterprises.
Secondly, based on a unified data base, the pain points of carbon reduction are analyzed and diagnosed. With the help of digital tools, companies can observe, measure, diagnose and analyze data with precision algorithms, fully tap the value of data, optimize production efficiency and energy efficiency, and explore carbon reduction opportunities.
Finally, digitization can aid decision making, continuous iteration and optimization of carbon reduction. By integrating “data integration centers”, open platform architectures, industrial digital twins and energy digital twins, rich general purpose software, continuously iterating algorithms, and leading technologies such as 5G and AI, feedback and data from all levels are gathered to help managers make optimal decisions and continuously improve the overall level of enterprise operations.