ABB makes manufacturing sustainable

Since the invention of the world's first industrial robot in 1974, ABB has associated its name with robot manufacturing. Whether it is welding or handling, spraying or casting, whether it is automobile production, food processing, medical and health, you may see ABB robots. ABB's vision-guided robot can grab 80 biscuits per minute, and reduce the cracking rate of biscuits during the grabbing process from 15% to 2.3% in the previous production system, greatly reducing energy consumption and monitoring and maintenance costs. ABB's compact spraying robot tailored for small and medium-sized parts spraying in various industries can achieve higher spraying quality with its compact body, save paint, reduce environmental impact, and save energy.

Robotics is just one industry that ABB specializes in. As the world's leading supplier of power and automation, ABB is committed to "Power and productivity for a better world", providing solutions that are used in a wide range of industrial production and social life.

At the same time, ABB is embracing energy efficiency in its own production practices and is committed to what Group CEO Joseph M. Hogan calls "sustainable manufacturing." In the words of Brice PG Koch, Senior Vice President of the Group, President of North Asia, Chairman and President of ABB (China) Co., Ltd., ABB China hopes to be the preferred partner for energy efficiency and energy efficiency forever.

Why does ABB focus on energy efficiency? Dr. Kurt Kaltenegger, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of ABB (China) Co., Ltd. and Head of the Group's China Research Center, replied that "creating a better world requires improving energy efficiency."

Green is constant Trends

Talking about going green in the current economic climate, talking about energy efficiency, should people focus more on recession-related changes or should they focus on something that doesn't change?

Hao Kun: In the current economic environment, what will not change is the general trend of environmental protection and climate change that we have to deal with. For all enterprises, it is common to want to reduce energy use, so as to save costs and better cope with the economic crisis.

China and other countries around the world have recognized the problem of environmental protection and the prevention of climate change. ABB will have different energy-saving solutions, and will also launch products and technologies that reduce energy consumption and costs to meet such demands.

For example, in the field of wind energy and solar power generation, the biggest problem is to solve the pressure brought by new energy to the grid. ABB is committed to making the grid more stable. ABB will continue to invest in these new technologies in the future, and will also cooperate with customers and governments to demonstrate our technologies in the field of energy efficiency. Our commitment to energy efficiency is unchanged.

Speaking of cooperation with the government, how does ABB participate in the Chinese government's 4 trillion economic stimulus plan?

Ko Ting'an: It can be seen that the government's investment drive is paying more and more attention to renewable energy, wind energy, locomotives, high-speed trains, water treatment and other fields, which are very consistent with ABB's R&D focus in China. These areas are not completely new, they have already become hot spots a few years ago, and I personally think that the government will pay more attention to these areas in the future. ABB has been conducting research and development in these fields globally and in China for many years, and has accumulated rich experience.

On the one hand, we will strengthen communication with customers to understand their real needs in a timely manner. On the other hand, it will work closely with universities to better understand advanced technologies so that they can solve customers' problems. For example, continue to work on grid stability, smart grid and other aspects of investment. In terms of R&D model, ABB will not change much from before.

How would you define the concept of green manufacturing? How does ABB implement this concept in China?

Hao Kun: The concept of green manufacturing may not have a perfect definition in the world, because it can be interpreted from different angles. I use the term "sustainable manufacturing" more, which I feel better expresses the process that involves not only reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving energy efficiency, but also further reducing carbon dioxide emissions in factories and office areas. waste etc.

ABB has a team dedicated to sustainable development around the world. This team has branches in various regions of the world. Their main job is to see how well we are doing sustainable manufacturing around the world and how well we achieve our goals. We are constantly striving to save energy, to provide more energy-efficient products and solutions, technologies, and to minimize all kinds of waste in our factories.

In 2008, we released the Sustainability Report for the first time for the Chinese market, and there is a lot of specific information in the report. What I would like to add is that every year we conduct self-assessment of resource use, including unit electricity consumption per million yuan of output value, per capita water consumption, and so on. We not only focus on green manufacturing, but also promote sustainable development solutions in a wider field in a more integrated way.

What are the broader and more comprehensive sustainable development solutions?

Hao Kun: Now countries all over the world have put forward targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Energy efficiency can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and save costs. In this regard, ABB has different products and solutions in various fields such as wind energy and solar energy.

I have to mention the motor here. How to make the motor more efficient and energy-saving, ABB has made the motor drive only when it is needed. The initial purchase cost of the motor accounts for only 1% of the entire life cycle cost, and 99% of the cost is consumed in the next few decades of use, including energy consumption costs. If all the non-high-efficiency motors in China's industrial field are converted into energy-efficient motors, 19 billion kWh of electricity can be saved every year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of about 3 million households, which is very impressive.

When it comes to energy efficiency and green energy, what people need to do is not to think about how to produce energy, but to think about reducing energy consumption first. You can see that the motor power consumption accounts for 65% of the industrial power consumption, so the energy saving potential in this field is very huge.

Be the first choice for energy efficiency and energy conservation

Which industries are ABB's energy efficiency technologies and products used in?

Cruise: ABB's leading power and automation technologies are used in all aspects of enterprise production and social life. Our main projects are in line with the trend of energy efficiency and all products fully support the concept of energy efficiency.

I would like to focus on the situation of ABB in China. High-efficiency motors are produced by Shanghai ABB Motor Co., Ltd.; Shanghai's ABB High-Voltage Motor Co., Ltd. mainly focuses on wind energy; in Chongqing, ABB Transformer Co., Ltd. mainly produces high-voltage DC transmission equipment, with smaller power loss, higher efficiency, ensuring Minimize power loss in the process of power transmission; Chongqing ABB Jiangjin Turbocharger Co., Ltd. uses supercharging technology to make motor output more efficient and reduce fuel consumption; Hefei ABB Transformer Co., Ltd. produces small transformers, which can also reduce losses , improve efficiency, has become a benchmark in China's transformer field.

In the Three Gorges Project, the annual power loss saved by the three HVDC transmission lines constructed by ABB can be used by 500,000 households. ABB's high-efficiency marine propulsion system helps all types of ships improve the efficiency of diesel engines, which can save 15% of fuel and reduce exhaust emissions. ABB's inverter products have cumulatively saved 35 billion kWh of electricity for Chinese companies, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of all households in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing.

Why does ABB focus on energy efficiency?

Kottingan: ABB Group has been committed to increasing energy efficiency and producing energy-efficient products for nearly 50 years. Research on the overall energy chain shows that in the process of energy from development to industrial production, only 20% of primary energy can ultimately be effectively used, and the proportion of wasted energy is as high as 80%. As a pioneer in energy conservation and efficiency enhancement, ABB always believes that "creating a better world requires improving energy efficiency".

At present, more than 50% of ABB's R&D expenses are concentrated in providing enterprises with energy-saving technologies and products, helping enterprises to reduce energy consumption and increase the utilization rate of energy to 40%. This is not only because ABB recognized the global energy shortage problem very early, but also the result of ABB's consideration of the cost and cost of the product's entire life cycle.

ABB Group uses energy-saving products to help Shanghai Coking Co., Ltd. carry out energy-saving renovations, saving 1.4 million kWh of electricity every year. In the current economic situation, it is very important to help customers reduce costs.

How to get customers and suppliers to agree and act in concert?

Ko Ting'an: ABB has provided energy-saving training to nearly 1,000 companies in the petrochemical, building materials, steel, textile, pulp and paper industries and other industries, using some tools and cases to help customers understand full life cycle costs. A typical example is some related equipment for wind power generation. If you buy some relatively cheap products during investment, but soon it is damaged and cannot be used, it will cost maintenance, maintenance and other later costs. We guide customers to see the full cost of the entire cycle from acquisition to final, not just the one-time cost of procurement.

ABB also uses its industry influence to drive upstream and downstream partners, and has long-term cooperation with suppliers at all levels in various forms to help them improve their awareness and level of environmental protection production. So far, ABB has conducted nearly 150 audits and related trainings on environmental protection and health for suppliers in China.

It is very important to provide customers with energy-efficient solutions, as well as our own energy-efficiency. How does ABB do this?

Cruise: We not only sell energy-efficient products and solutions, our own factories and buildings also follow the concept of energy-efficiency. From 2002 to 2007, the electricity consumption per million yuan of sales revenue of ABB enterprises in China decreased by 48%, and the per capita water consumption decreased by 36%.

ABB requires all of the company's manufacturing plants to strictly comply with international environmental standards such as ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. When ABB builds a new plant or expands an existing plant, it will take energy conservation and emission reduction as the key link of the entire project, and apply environmentally friendly products and technologies on a large scale.

Taking the new multi-business production base of Shanghai ABB Engineering Co., Ltd. as an example, compared with ordinary buildings, it can save electricity equivalent to 700 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 600 tons. The technology and products of Chongqing ABB Jiangjin Turbocharger Co., Ltd. are to improve the efficiency of the motor. It has used technologies including water circulation system and solar panel during expansion to maximize the efficiency and energy saving of the factory. Shanghai ABB Motor Co., Ltd. has realized the recycling of production water by optimizing industrial processes and transforming production equipment. By replacing solvent-based surface paint with water-based surface paint in the production process, it can reduce 20 tons of volatile organic compound emissions every year.

By using ABB's application intelligence system, ABB's workshops can maximize the use of natural light sources and reduce power consumption; by applying thermal insulation building materials, ABB's workshops can reduce energy consumption for cooling in summer and keeping warm in winter.

In addition to the corporate level, does ABB have green practices at a broader level?

Cruise: ABB leverages its own technological advantages to actively help government agencies to achieve the goals set in the national "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" as soon as possible, that is, to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20% and reduce the total emission of major pollutants by 10%.

Signed a 5-year strategic agreement with Guangdong Province in 2006 to help local enterprises improve energy efficiency and support Guangdong Province to achieve the goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16% by 2010.

In 2007, ABB provided automation solutions for the largest heating infrastructure project in Harbin, using circulating hot water from a nearby power plant in Daoli District (Editor's Note: "Daoli" is a district in Harbin) The 156 self-controlled heat exchange stations in the area provide heat energy, replacing the boiler room in the traditional sense, which can save 300,000 tons of standard coal burning every year, and reduce about 11,000 tons of soot, 2,200 tons of sulfur dioxide and more than 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is equivalent to the combined carbon emissions of about 300,000 cars in one year.

In terms of public welfare and environmental protection activities, ABB takes joint actions with local communities and customers to protect the ecological environment.

Since 2005, ABB has actively participated in the construction of green belts around the Three Gorges Reservoir area, improving the ecological environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir area.

In 2007, together with Inner Mongolia Electric Power Group and its subsidiary Ordos Electric Power Bureau, they launched a three-year desertification prevention and control project, which is expected to treat more than 10,000 mu of sandy land, thus creating a "green barrier". So far, ABB and Inner Mongolia Electric Power Group have jointly donated 1.2 million yuan for this environmental protection project.

ABB wants to always be the partner of choice for energy efficiency, industrial productivity and grid stability.

ABB's Green Initiatives

· Manufacture and use industrial robots in production systems that save energy and reduce their negative impact on the environment.

·Increased R&D investment in renewable energy, wind energy, locomotives, high-speed trains, water treatment and other fields, communicated effectively with customers, and actively participated in the Chinese government's 4 trillion economic stimulus plan.

·Propose the concept of "sustainable manufacturing", set up a special team to be responsible for the implementation of this concept, and publish a sustainable development report.

·Successfully developed energy-efficient technologies and products, and effectively applied them to their own and customers' production and management to achieve considerable energy savings.