Energy conservation and efficiency will lay the energy efficiency foundation for high-quality economic development and carbon emission reduction

· Digital and intelligent technologies will significantly promote energy efficiency and energy transformation

· Efficient and low-carbon development requires deepening cooperation among various industries and collaborative innovation between upstream and downstream

As an important part of ABB Group’s “Energy Efficiency Action”, ABB China Energy Efficiency Symposium was held in Beijing on March 22. More than 20 experts and representatives from the government, academia and the business community exchanged experiences and shared views on the theme of energy conservation and efficiency, interpreted the opportunities and challenges faced by improving energy efficiency, and proposed that all parties work together to pool advantages, explore new models of low-carbon transformation, and jointly build a new ecology for green development.

Under the multiple challenges of intensified global climate change, rigid growth in energy demand, and tightening constraints on resources and the environment, energy conservation and efficiency have become one of the most direct and effective measures to promote green development. Improving energy efficiency is not only a key path to reduce energy consumption, optimize the energy mix, and achieve climate goals, but also an important opportunity to upgrade industrial quality, cultivate and strengthen new drivers of growth, and achieve high-quality development.

Dr. Gu Chunyuan, Chairman of ABB China, said in his speech at the event: “The path to low-carbon development is a global consensus. Increasing the proportion of renewable energy, further promoting electrification, as well as improving efficiency and reducing energy consumption are the three major paths to achieve carbon neutrality. Among them, energy conservation and efficiency is the shortest investment cycle, the fastest effect, the most economic “first energy”. Through technological innovation in electrification, automation and digitalization, we can further improve production efficiency and resource efficiency, achieving both carbon reduction and development.”

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In order to raise awareness of energy conservation and combat climate change, ABB has launched the #energyefficiencymovement worldwide since 2021, calling on all sectors to take action to reduce energy consumption, reduce emissions, make commitments and share practices. Some 300 companies and organizations are already participating in the initiative. At this event, a number of enterprises said they would join the “Energy saving and efficiency action” to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In the process of implementing energy efficiency improvement and promoting green development, it is particularly critical to establish and improve relevant laws and regulations and industry standards, and improve services and regulatory systems. Dr. Li Pengcheng, chief researcher in the field of energy conservation and low carbon at the China Institute of Standardization, shared expert insights around the theme of “Energy efficiency standard labeling of End products” at the event. Talking about how energy efficiency standards change the distribution of market efficiency and support market transformation, he said: “Standards play a ‘push’ and ‘pull’ role: on the one hand, through mandatory access indicators, eliminate backward and inefficient products; On the other hand, by clarifying energy-saving products, we encourage leading enterprises to drive the overall improvement of energy efficiency. Energy efficiency standards are an important bridge to transmit energy conservation and carbon reduction policy signals to the industry, and domestic and international practice has proved that this is a very effective way.”

Digitalization and intelligence are a major focus of hot discussion among the guests. A recent energy efficiency investment survey conducted by ABB also showed that nearly half of the Chinese respondents listed “lack of digital skills” as the top obstacle to improving energy efficiency. Looking forward to the future development direction of intelligence and digitalization, Professor Wang Feiyue, director of the State Key Laboratory of Complex Systems Management and Control of China and researcher of the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a speech entitled “Digital employees and parallel enterprises: Scenario engineering and Business large Model Change energy saving and Efficiency Model”.

Professor Wang Feiyue pointed out that the future intelligence will be human intelligence + artificial intelligence + natural intelligence + organizational intelligence; The future enterprise will be “robot + biological person + digital person” three types of employees to work together. 80% of the working time will be in autonomous mode, 15% of the working time will be in parallel mode, virtual and real combination, and 5% of the working time will be in expert emergency mode. We rely on professional division of labor to come to today, and now we are doing human-machine division of labor in full swing, below we will enter the future of virtual and real division of labor, and gradually move toward the world of 6S: Physical world Security (Safety), information space security (Security), ecological Sustainability (Sustainability), personalized privacy protection (Sensitivity), quality Service (Service), Ultimately, smart economy, smart society and smart industry (Smartness).

At present, the industrial field is one of the important fields and main battlefields of energy conservation and efficiency improvement. In 2022, China’s industrial electricity consumption accounted for 64.8% of the total social electricity consumption. Last year, six departments of China jointly issued the Action Plan for Improving Industrial Energy Efficiency, which proposed that by 2025, energy efficiency of key industries should be improved comprehensively, the proportion of green and low-carbon energy use should be significantly increased, and energy consumption per unit of added value of industrial enterprises above designated size should be reduced by 13.5% from 2020.

The recently published “Industrial Energy Efficiency Handbook” interviewed organizations including ABB, Alfa Laval, DHL, the International Energy Agency, Microsoft and ETH Zurich to provide 10 cost-effective measures for enterprises to save energy, reduce costs and reduce emissions. A range of mature and widely applicable technology solutions, including energy audits, rational streamlining of industrial equipment and optimization of processes, equipment interconnection, installation of efficient motors and inverters, can help enterprises improve return on investment and achieve scale deployment.

Qi Luping, head of ABB Motion Control Division in China, said at the event: “ABB Motion Control Division has always taken the mission of ‘driving the world and promoting energy conservation’ as its mission. In the face of the challenges and opportunities brought by the “dual-carbon” era, ABB will continue to take practical actions, relying on its deep accumulation in the field of energy conservation and efficiency, professional experience in many industries and the innovation ability of digital technology, to promote and support the green low-carbon transformation of users in various industries. We hope to build a platform for exchanges, learning and sharing with all sectors of society through ABB’s global advocacy of energy conservation and efficiency, establish new or deeper cooperation with more local customers and partners, and contribute to China’s green development and the realization of the goal of ‘double carbon’.”

ABB’s efforts in the area of energy efficiency are also a concrete action to actively deploy the company’s sustainable development strategy. ABB is committed to empowering a low-carbon society, conserving natural resources and driving social progress, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030, helping customers reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 100 million tons per year, with 80% of its products and solutions being recyclable and zero waste going to landfill. By the end of 2022, ABB has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations by approximately 65% compared to the 2019 baseline, and reduced waste to landfill by 32%. Five enterprises in China have been awarded the “Green Factory” by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, actively building zero-carbon parks, and working together to promote sustainable development by helping customers and suppliers improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions, so as to jointly empower the green and low-carbon economic transformation.

ABB is a technology leader in electrical and automation that enables a more sustainable and efficient future. ABB integrates engineering expertise and software technology into solutions that optimize manufacturing, transportation, energy and operations. With a history of more than 130 years of excellence, ABB’s approximately 105,000 employees worldwide are committed to driving innovation and accelerating industrial transformation. ABB has a full range of business activities in China, including research and development, manufacturing, sales and engineering services, with 27 local enterprises and 15,000 employees in nearly 130 cities, and online and offline channels covering about 700 cities across the country.