How can technology help accelerate the path to achieving carbon neutrality?

Businesses across industries have realized that climate change is real, global, and rapid. More than 20% of the world’s 2,000 publicly listed companies have now committed to a “net-zero” emissions target. Additional impetus is being provided by socially conscious investors that are focusing on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives by industries.

One of the key levers in tackling the challenge of sustainability and the path to carbon neutrality is energy efficiency.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has modeled that energy efficiency measures alone can lead to about 40% abatement of CO2 equivalents in line with the Paris agreement. Industries are already at various levels of maturity in addressing energy efficiency through different approaches:

• Policy and process improvement (Energy audits, policies for efficient use, technology change)
• Asset replacement (retrofits, replacement of legacy assets)
• Measurement, monitoring, and optimization (Energy management through use of AIoT and digital technologies)

In order to effectively use AIoT and digital technologies, industries need to develop better capabilities to gather data and use data to make better decisions on energy use. Industries can drive efficacious energy management as well as other utilities such as steam, air, water, and industrial gases to drive both desirable sustainability outcomes as well as reduced operational costs.

Here’s where Bosch DEEPSights comes into the picture. Most companies can track daily energy consumption by production line/production area level through energy meters and at the monthly level through the Energy Bill. DEEPSights allows companies to track and optimize at machine or component or sub-component level.

Let’s explore how Bosch’s advanced energy platform can help businesses achieve their sustainability and carbon neutrality goals.

Internet of Things (IoT)-powered smart systems allow industries to monitor how resources are spent and how to reduce their consumption. Bosch DEEPSights, for instance, comes with a digital suite that provides full-stack digitalization of all energy and utility resources. With the help of such solutions, companies can monitor and keep logs of electricity consumed by machines during both use and downtime. Such solutions can also help companies identify production areas where it is possible to use less energy-intensive equipment without compromising the result.

Industries can also employ a platform approach for energy monitoring and optimization that provide the additional benefits of multi-site management. They can also extend this approach to other crucial yet scarce resources like water, industrial gas, and steam. To help establish the water balance, industries can use AI-ML models to source water optimally through auto pumps from different sources like well, rainwater, municipality supply, irrigating lawns while monitoring the quality of discharges and plugging steam or water leakages.

Most industries use several asset classes which are high energy guzzlers – HVACs, chillers, furnaces, conveyors, compressors, injection molding machines, large hydraulic presses, and pumps. These asset classes can be further optimized and managed by closed-loop capabilities using an AI model at the edge or cloud. Through the intelligent use of AI and ML models, the electrical health of assets can be uncovered, anomalies can be detected, and preventive measures can be adopted. Closed-loop capabilities allow assets to be controlled using both internal and external data such as weather conditions.

Using historical production data and energy consumption patterns, BOSCH DEEPSights can predict energy requirements up to 24 hours in advance, enabling organizations to optimally source power from the grid and use captive sources such as renewable energy more effectively. This will enable organizations to avoid penalties, if any, for excess generation as well as payments for peak power charges.

Multi-site visibility provides a unique opportunity to measure and benchmark specific power consumption per part for similar stock keeping units (SKU). This helps organizations measure and benchmark cost of production across sites more effectively and allows them to drive higher margin products where feasible.

Advanced technological tools not only help businesses monitor energy consumption but also suggest measures for its reduction. When a machine consumes less energy in a particular process, the saved energy can be diverted to other tasks. This not only saves energy but also helps lower harmful emissions significantly.

Businesses can also establish visibility and transparency of consumption patterns and use advanced analytics within a factory to bring about 10 -30% of energy savings. Through minimal additional sensorization of legacy assets, using existing PLC, SCADA, and /or BMS data, businesses can save energy significantly.

Carbon neutrality goals are essential for businesses to be future-ready for a spectrum of reasons ranging from regulatory compliances, cost-effectiveness, profitability to brand reputation.

Bosch DEEPSights is a digital suite that targets effective energy and utility management for businesses. It offers a plethora of services such as Energy, Utilities Management, Condition Based Monitoring, Enterprise Digital Strategy for Energy and Utility, and Advanced Analytics for effective energy and utilities management. Learn more about how Bosch DEEPSIGHTS can help you achieve your sustainability and carbon neutrality goals here.