Specific Challenge

Improving industrial energy efficiency requires the integration of energy data, such as historical data, real-time data and real-time predicted energy cost, into the production management systems. Manufacturing systems are complex because many parameters, related to environment, components, usage of materials, machines, cells, lines and supply chains, collectively influence the energy performance of production processes.

Different technologies of energy-efficient manufacturing have already been studied in the past. However, the challenge is now to combine all these technologies in a holistic, intelligent and interoperable approach to ensure a comprehensive implementation, providing significant energy savings.

Scope

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) are valuable tools to enable factories to improve their energy efficiency by monitoring energy-related flows and data. In addition to closed-loop flexible approaches, near real-time intelligent (recognising cause-effect-relationships) and transparent management of the production system can improve traditional LCA/LCCA towards more ambitious energy saving.

Proposals are expected to address all of the following aspects

1

Combination of ICT, such as digital twin, big data analysis, internet of things, cloud technologies and artificial intelligence, leading to a shift from diagnosis to prognosis in controlling the consumption and cost of energy in manufacturing;

2

Information collection and compilation linking the environmental footprint of a given manufacturing process/plant from the equipment component to the whole facility and the entire value chain;

3

Demonstration of design approaches and technologies, through at least two complex industrial case studies, with application across different manufacturing sectors;

4

Certification, regulatory and standardisation activities related to the proposed solutions with the specific focus on the compatibility of energy and environmental data across different manufacturing sectors.

Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as
outlined in the Introduction to the LEIT part of this Work Programme.

Activities should start at TRL 5 and achieve TRL 7 at the end of the project.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU between EUR 8 and
10 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does
not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact:

1

Energy consumption reduction for the improved production process of at least 25% ;

2

Life Cycle Cost reduction of at least 15%;

3

Improved environmental performance of the involved products;

4

Development of standardised European energy-efficient best practices to overcome the barriers limiting their application in the manufacturing sectors.

This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement n° 958478
Get more Information: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/958478