April 2021

n NEWS GOING DON’T ROUND KEEP ON ea 365 days a y s a day 24 hour & Mechanical M vice, Ser , Sales motor and au o Contact us f AND RO r! eek, 7 days a w , ing Engineer aintenance ation related needs tom ic our electr r all y UND .on line s ic-motor .electr www .on line s ic-motor sales@electr 02476 980833 ABB HAS PUBLISHED a White Paper arguing that high- efficiency motors and VSDs (variable-speed drives) could, by themselves, achieve more than 40% of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions needed to meet the 2040 goals established by the Paris climate agreement. It is calling on governments and industry around the world to accelerate the adoption of these technologies to help combat climate change. The paper – called Achieving the Paris Agreement: The Vital Role of High-Efficiency Motors and Drives in Reducing Energy Consumption – reports that about 300 million of the electric motors in use around the world are inefficient or consume much more power than required, resulting in “monumental” energy wastage. If these systems were replaced by optimised, high-efficiency equipment, global electricity consumption could be cut by up to 10%, it calculates. This, in turn, would account for more than 40% of the emission reductions needed to hit the 2040 goals set out in the Paris Agreement. “Industrial energy efficiency, more than any other challenge, has the single greatest capacity for combatting the climate emergency,” argues Morten Wierod, the president of ABB Motion. “It is essentially the world’s invisible climate solution. “The importance of transitioning industries and infrastructure to these highly energy-efficient drives and motors to play their part in a more sustainable society cannot be overstated,” he continues. “With 45% of the world’s electricity used to power electric motors in buildings and industrial applications, investment in upgrading them will yield outsized rewards in terms of efficiency.” ABB estimates that its own installed base of high-efficiency motors and drives achieved 198TWh of electricity savings in 2020 – equivalent to more than half of the annual consumption of the UK. By 2023, it adds, they will save an additional 78TWh per year. Regulatory policies are among the main drivers of industrial investment in energy efficiency around the globe. While the European Union will be implementing its Ecodesign Regulation (EU 2019/1781) this year, which sets out stringent new requirements for an expanding range of energy efficient motors, many countries have yet to take action. To take advantage of the opportunities offered by energy- efficient drives and motors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ABB argues that: n decision-makers and government regulators need to incentivise their rapid adoption; n businesses, cities and countries need to be aware of both the cost savings and environmental advantages, and be willing to make the investment; and n investors need to re-allocate capital to companies better prepared to address the climate risk. “All stakeholders need to work together to bring about a holistic transformation in how we use energy,” says Wierod. “By acting and innovating together, we can keep critical services up and running while saving energy and combatting climate change.” https://www.energyefficiency movement.com/en/whitepaper Efficient motors and drives alone ‘could hit 40% of Paris climate goals’ Wierod: Industrial energy efficiency has the greatest capacity for combatting climate change NEWS BRIEFS p Tewkesbury-based Trio Motion Technology has appointed the systems integrator Micromech as its UK Solutions Partner. The partnership, under which Micromech will develop systems for OEMs and machine- builders, is aimed at increasing support for OEMs in Trio’s home market. It follows Trio’s recent launch of a full OEM portfolio, adding servodrives and motors to its existing motion controls and I/O. These will be joined later this year by Scara robots. p Teledyne Technologies is buying the digital imaging giant Flir Systems in a deal worth around $8bn. The companies say that their sensing technologies and markets have“minimal overlap”. Flir is strong in areas such as thermography and the automotive, consumer and security markets, while Teledyne has an expertise in aerospace and subsea sensing. Flir’s $1.9bn of revenues all come from digital imaging, while this accounts for 32% of Teledyne’s $3.1bn income. Its biggest market is instrumentation, accounting to 36% of its revenues. The combined business is expected to generate revenues worth around $5bn. p Nidec is buying Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ machine tools business for a reported 30 billion yen (£200m). The business leads the Japanese market for gear cutting and grinding machinery, with a 60% share. It employs around 1,400 people and has sales worth 40.3bn yen (£270m). Nidec says that the acquisition will strengthen its capabilities for producing gears, especially for its E-axle drive system for electric vehicles (EVs). The acquired business will complement the existing Nidec-Shimpo operation, which already makes reduction gearboxes.