Walking the torque

Earlier this year, European electrical engineering company ABB, announced that one of its largest industrial electric motors had set a new world record, achieving an incredible 99.13% efficiency during testing. The previous record of 99.05%, also held by ABB had stood for eight years.

This large synchronous electric motor was designed for a steel plant in India, and once installed it is expected to save almost $6 million in energy costs, and avoid 45,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions over the motors 25 year lifespan.

Industrial electric motors – of which there are thought to be 300 million operating globally – perform essential applications across industry, including pumping liquids, powering fans, and delivering compressed air. Consuming almost 7,000 TWh of power each year, industrial electric motors account for around one-quarter of global electricity use.

Although ABB's latest innovation is an extraordinary example of technological progress, more mundane improvements in energy efficiency can be achieved by upgrading to newer, slightly more efficient electric motors. Switching all currently installed industrial electric motors to newer, more efficient ones offers immediate energy savings, estimated to be worth around 10% of global electricity consumption according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The change can't come soon enough! Governments are desperately seeking to protect their industries from high energy costs, and relieve taxpayers from the burden of investing in upgraded grid infrastructure. The pressure doesn't stop there. Energy efficiency also has a central role to play in helping governments meet their climate targets.

Unfortunately, firms are often reluctant to upgrade to newer, more energy efficient electric motors. Before we understand why, and what governments can do about it, lets first take a step back and gauge how global energy efficiency is developing, and why industrial electric motors are so important.