Focus on increasing energy efficiency is accelerating across global manufacturing as part of the drive to achieve net zero, with nine in 10 respondents to an industry survey expecting to increase investment in this area over the next five years.
The Energy Efficiency Investment Survey conducted by Sapio Research on behalf of ABB found that, on average, 23% of firms’ annual operating costs are currently attributable to energy usage. Meanwhile over half of respondents – the majority of which came from the manufacturing sector – indicated that rising energy costs represent a moderate or substantial threat to profitability.
In light of these findings, despite cost being named as a significant barrier to investing in improving energy efficiency, achieving cost savings came out as the most important reason for spending in this area and was cited by 59% of firms.
Over two thirds of respondents also felt that downtime was a barrier while only 41% felt they had all the information they needed regarding energy efficiency.
“It is vital to help stakeholders across industry understand that net zero need not mean net cost,” said ABB Motion president Tarak Mehta. “Both suppliers and governments have a role to play in promoting the message that adopting energy efficient technology offers a fast return on investment while cutting CO2 emissions. The bottom line is that energy efficiency is good for business and good for the environment.”
Further findings indicate that 40% of companies plan to make energy efficiency improvements this year, while almost two thirds of respondents said they are upgrading their equipment to best-in-class efficiency ratings, such as high efficiency electric motors controlled by variable speed drives.
“Despite the challenges, this survey presents a mainly hopeful picture,” said Mr Metha. “Clearly, some of the most important messages about how energy efficiency will influence the path to net zero have started to resonate with industrial companies. As a result, many are investing in technology such as high efficiency motors and drives.”