- Measures at Belo facility deliver annual operational energy savings of 530 MWh and a 162-ton reduction in CO2e emissions within first year
- New energy frequency inverters, solar panels, LED lamps and skylights, and ABB AbilityTM smart energy management accelerate energy efficiency
- Producing residential circuit breakers for the Americas regions, the site now addresses the rising market demand for sustainably produced products
ABB has achieved annual energy savings of 530 MWh and a reduction of 160 tons in CO2e emissions1 at its Belo manufacturing facility in Contagem, southeast Brazil. The savings follow implementation of sustainability initiatives including installation of solar panels, solar water heaters, LED lamps and skylights, and frequency inverters. The facility has also deployed ABB AbilityTM Energy Manager for the metering, control and optimization of energy consumption.
ABB’s Belo plant started operations in 1975 and produces 42,000 poles a day for the manufacturing of NEMA residential circuit breakers. These miniature circuit breakers protect homes from the potential risks caused by overcurrent or short circuit events. The site is part of the ABB Mission to Zero™ program which supports the company’s commitment to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 100% by 20502. Driven by local teams, sites focus on improving efficiencies through energy generation, management and storage using ABB’s innovative technologies and third-party integration.
The new initiatives build on a CO2e emissions reduction of over 128 tons in 2023 due to green energy purchase. A further reduction of 34 tonnes was achieved, following the installation of solar panels, upgrading heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and the installation of enhanced frequency inverters on equipment in the molding and stamping areas. Energy consumption was reduced by approximately 420 MWh a year by adding energy frequency inverters in two main production areas with high energy use. The installation of solar panels is estimated to have contributed approximately 220 MWh of on-site generated renewable energy a year. ABB AbilityTM Energy Manager provides insight data to identify new opportunities to further reduce energy consumption and optimizes energy efficiency in the process given the demand at different points and times. The ongoing implementation of an energy management system according to ISO 50001 will further drive energy-efficiency actions at the site.
"The ABB Mission to Zero approach at Belo is another example of our aim to enable a lower-carbon society and our commitment to accelerate the transition to more sustainable manufacturing, while empowering our customers to optimize, electrify and decarbonize their operations,” said Mike Mustapha, President of ABB Electrification’s Smart Buildings division. “Significant reductions in energy consumption and CO2e emissions have been achieved within a year of implementing changes. The highly motivated team at the facility went beyond efficient energy management to ensure that the site delivers zero production waste to landfill by the end of the year.”
The Belo team is targeting further energy savings in 2024 by adding more solar panels to meet 30 percent of the site’s energy demand as well as installing inverters for compressor and pump machines and replacing existing forklift vehicles with electric ones.
For more information about ABB’s Mission to Zero™ program visit https://new.abb.com/mission-to-zero
1 Compared to 2021 baseline
2 Compared to 2019