“The project has helped transform a large part of the way we do business today”

Savings on the bottom line and new heights of innovation power.
One of Europe’s largest iron foundries achieved far greater impact than expected by engaging in an innovation project on data-driven energy improvement.

Challenge

In Denmark, the manufacturing and process industry accounted for approximately 20% of total energy consumption and was thus a significant source of CO₂ emissions.

In order for the manufacturing and process industry to successfully reduce their CO₂ emissions, there was a need to develop and implement software tools that could provide practical insight into energy consumption in daily operations and help plan production so that as much green power as possible was used.

Solution

The project developed an edge-computing and cloud-based software platform that enabled manufacturing and process companies to automatically collect and analyze energy and production data. The solution was able to identify the most optimal operating practices and thus minimize both energy consumption and CO₂ emissions – while maintaining product quality and process throughput.

Result

Using data and algorithms, BIRN has reduced its average kilowatt-hour consumption per ton of molten iron.

When melting 83,400 tons, this is a significant saving that goes directly to the bottom line

“It is a clear win in terms of both climate and economy,” says Emil Brodersen.

Both benefits please Christian Boysen, COO of Energy Cluster Denmark, who facilitated the project:

“When both the climate and the bottom line get a boost, it is innovation that can be felt,” he says.