ABB reported May 28 that it’s broken its own world record for energy efficiency in large, synchronous, electric motors with a new motor that’s achieved an efficiency rating of 99.13% during testing, which beat ABB’s previous world record of 99.05% in 2017.
The efficiency rating is the ratio between the energy a motor draws and the amount it turns into motion. The theoretical limit is 100% efficiency. Getting closer to this target becomes increasingly challenging for motor designs and construction, which is why the previous world record stood for eight years.
Destined for a steel plant in India, the new motor will drive an air separation unit (ASU) that will liquify atmospheric air, so oxygen and nitrogen can be separated to provide pure gases for the steelmaking process.
ABB reports the new motor was designed in accordance with its Top Industrial Efficiency (TIE) initiative, which delivers equipment that exceeds standard performance benchmarks. TIE motors and generators are engineered to surpass current efficiency benchmarks and reduce electricity consumption, operating costs and total cost of ownership (TCO) without compromising performance or adding complexity. TIE addresses a gap in energy efficiency standards for large motors (more than 3 MW) that, despite being a small part of the global motors base, consume about 25% of all motion-related energy.
Opting for a TIE-optimized motor, rather than ABB’s standard design with 98.64% efficiency, will let the steel plant save around 61 GWh of energy and $5.9 million in electricity costs over a 25-year lifespan. It will also support avoiding 45,000 tons of CO2 emissions. The scope for savings and avoided emissions is even greater in places where electricity is more expensive.
"ABB is on a mission to help industries run leaner and cleaner, and this project shows how our products go beyond standards with our TIE initiative that delivers large motors and generators with the highest possible energy efficiency,” says Brandon Spencer, president of ABB Motion. “This initiative helps our customers boost profitability since electricity costs are, by far, the largest component in the TCO for this type of motor, while they’re also trying to cut their carbon emissions.”
