Amit Gupta, Division President, Motion Services, ABB India, discusses the role of motor-driven systems in enhancing productivity and efficiency of a cement plant.

What is the impact of the motor driven systems in the cement industry?
In the cement industry, motor-driven systems play a crucial role amidst challenging conditions marked by excessive dust and fluctuating temperatures. With hundreds of motors in the plant starting from a few kWs to MWs running various applications, motor driven systems consume a large part of energy in the cement manufacturing process. Running these systems efficiently and effectively is key to enhancing productivity. Cement industry has been in forefront in adopting energy efficient motors and use of Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) for energy saving, however oversizing and missing to evaluate the efficiency of the system at the operating points are resulting in higher costs. ABB provides a comprehensive portfolio of high-efficiency motors tailored for such harsh environments. Supported by global service and ABB Ability™ digital solutions, these motors reduce unplanned downtime, enhance production efficiency, and heighten safety, thereby significantly impacting
the operational parameters of the cement industry.

How does Motion services help in maximising performance of motors and drives leading to improved uptime and efficiency in energy utilisation?
ABB Motion Services leverages its extensive experience in motors, generators, and drives to deliver comprehensive solutions. ABB’s customised service offerings and innovative
digital technologies ensure maximised uptime, optimised lifecycle management, enhanced performance, and improved energy efficiency for your electrical equipment.
The landscape of industrial maintenance is shifting towards outcome-based models, marking a departure from traditional task-based arrangements. In these innovative models, service partners are compensated not just for completing tasks, but for delivering tangible outcomes. This alignment of incentives ensures that both the business and service partner are fully invested in achieving shared maintenance goals, such as maximising energy savings or ensuring uptime.
This paradigm shift creates a mutually beneficial scenario where both parties stand to gain, fostering a win-win dynamic.
On the digital front, ABB Ability™ Condition Monitoring for powertrains makes maintenance easy and affordable. Our diagnostic solutions e.g. ABB Ability™ Life expectancy Analysis Program (LEAP) for high voltage motors and generators give insights to understand remnant insulation life of these machines and help customers to take timely corrective actions. For direct-on-line motors with possibility of optimal running, we offer VFD retrofits. One of the solutions here is our slip power recovery system (SPRS) for slip ring motors, where we typically save 10 to 20 per cent of energy. This holistic approach, backed by over 130 years of collective expertise, empowers clients across diverse industries to achieve operational excellence, profitability, and sustainability.

How does equipment modernisation contribute to reducing carbon emissions?
Equipment modernisation plays a pivotal role in mitigating carbon emissions through fast, efficient, and cost-effective methods aimed at enhancing plant reliability and performance. By modernising existing equipment, not only is its lifespan extended, but its performance is optimised, leading to greater
energy efficiency, avoids material waste from premature scrapping and avoids up to 55 per cent of CO2 emissions compared to a full replacement. Through life-cycle audits, ABB Motion Services assesses equipment condition and identifies obsolescence issues, offering tailored maintenance paths to boost reliability and performance while extending operational
life, thereby contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions.

What are the challenges faced in the cement industry along with potential solutions?
Many industrial businesses including cement still rely on outdated, high-risk maintenance methods, neglecting the true costs of unexpected downtime. ABB had conducted a study last year named the ‘Reliability Survey’ which emphasises this oversight, urging the industry to prioritise energy efficiency
and reliability. Digitalisation should enhance decision-making, paving the way for a proactive, outcome-driven approach. Industrial businesses should aim to progress from a high-risk run-to-fail maintenance approach to a long-term outcome-based strategy. This will improve reliability, business reputation, competitiveness, cut costs and provide peace of mind, empowering businesses to focus on their core competence.
Among the key challenges faced in the cement industry are reducing CO2 emissions, which requires transitioning to carbon-neutral methods such as biomass fuels, hydrogen, and electrification. There’s a growing need for digital traceability to establish cement’s digital identity for product tracking and performance monitoring throughout the supply chain. Furthermore, addressing skills gaps poses a significant hurdle, particularly with an ageing maintenance workforce, as indicated by a survey showing an average age of 37 among maintenance staff, a trend observed across different countries and sectors.

Can you provide insights into digitalisation within the cement industry?
Digitalisation offers multifaceted benefits. It not only enhances process, asset and plant-wide performance but also fosters sustainability. By embracing high levels of digitalisation, efficiency gains are maximised, leading to reduced energy consumption and increased utilisation of alternative fuels and renewable energy sources.
Achieving optimal digitalisation levels requires a unified, cross-functional and enterprise-wide approach to digital transformation, exemplified by solutions provided by ABB. This approach encompasses digital process and asset optimisation technologies, coupled with comprehensive training for plant personnel.
A holistic approach brings a suite of targeted business benefits to cement customers. It enables process optimisation by leveraging advanced control, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies, ensuring maximum efficiency in operations. It also facilitates asset optimisation by minimising downtime and enhancing the overall effectiveness of equipment, leading to improved reliability and performance. Driving quality improvement through in-line quality control measures, it incorporates feedback loops to adjust process parameters and maintain consistency in product quality. Moreover, Energy Appraisal enhances planning efficiency by enabling comprehensive planning across fleets, resulting in greater accuracy in forecasting and resource allocation. Additionally, it also boosts logistics productivity by streamlining in-plant logistics and warehousing operations, thereby enhancing workforce efficiency and overall operational performance.
In essence, digitalisation revolutionises the cement industry by driving efficiency, sustainability, and overall operational excellence through a cohesive and integrated digital approach.

How can ABB Energy Appraisal help plants save energy and lower carbon emissions?
ABB Energy Appraisal Service provides in-depth insights to facilitate informed decisions for conserving energy in electric motor-driven systems, thereby aiding in the reduction of CO2 emissions and enhancing a company’s sustainability efforts. By pinpointing the most energy-intensive motor-driven applications, it suggests strategies to enhance efficiency and promote sustainability. Additionally, the option to integrate an ABB Energy Appraisal into an ABB Motion OneCare agreement is available.
The Energy Appraisal offers several key benefits to industrial plants. Firstly, it enables the identification of motor-driven systems for energy savings, providing a comprehensive overview of potential savings and payback periods for each application. Additionally, it helps pinpoint strategies to reduce operational costs and mitigate CO2 emissions, aligning with sustainability objectives. Furthermore, the Appraisal serves as a guide for modernisation efforts, assisting in prioritising upgrades with optimal returns on investment. Importantly, these benefits are achieved with minimal disruption to operations, as the Appraisal can be conducted seamlessly without impacting facility activities, and any recommended equipment upgrades can be integrated into routine maintenance schedules, ensuring continuity of production.

• –Kanika Mathur