• Technology leader calls on companies to evolve operations by leveraging advanced solutions to bridge digital gaps
  • ABB draws on expert team assembled across five disciplines to deliver insights in pulp and paper, mining, metals, cement and other process industries
  • Opportunities exist to build on successes in energy management, process safety, skills retention and process performance results

ABB has launched Do More With Digital, a global campaign highlighting the opportunities for the process industries to realise their full potential through digital transformation. Leveraging its deep ties across pulp and paper, mining, metals and cement, ABB recognises a significant opportunity to continue equipping these sectors with advanced industry-specific solutions, driving their digitalisation journey and allowing them to accelerate their adoption curve in a shorter timeframe.

While these industries will continue to be enhanced through technology development using the likes of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI), data analytics, machine learning (ML), cloud and edge computing, they are also considered hard-to-abate due to the volume of production, location of operations, energy and heat chemistry, and many other factors. World Economic Forumi reports that digital solutions can accelerate net zero in high-emission industries, delivering up to 20 percent of the total reduction that the International Energy Agency says is needed by 2050. ABB is leveraging its experience of previous energy transitions, its recent record in industrial software development, and its 140 years of heritage across multiple industries to guide customers on their digitalization journeys.

“Adoption of advanced digital technologies is still much slower than one might expect in the process industries,” said Sanjit Shewale, Global Business Line Manager for Digital, ABB Process Industries. “Customers are facing new challenges in proving and scaling up solutions that will drive real, transformative change. However, there are opportunities for all parties to use technologies to retain knowledge of processes in their business as people retire or move on in shorter timeframes than was typical in the past. Through co-creation, there is the chance to show more and do more for positive investment decisions that quickly result in unprecedented levels of energy management, efficiency, sustainability, safety and service.”

ABB is currently working with fellow global technology companies to integrate the likes of Gen AI capabilities into the ABB Ability™ suite of industrial software, supporting industrial companies to improve data collection, unlock insights hidden in operational data, and enable significant gains in efficiency and productivity. Partnerships also exist for initiatives to accelerate the adoption of digital solutions to help industries meet their goals on net-zero emissions. One such example is real-time data transmission using cloud-based software integrated with ABB systems.

The metals industry is at the center of the race to net zero and as such, enhancing efficiency to reduce energy wastage and ensure cost optimization remains one of its core challenges. Solutions such as ABB Ability™ Energy Management System and ABB Ability™ Smart Melt Shop allow plants to automatically forecast and optimize power demand at scale, allowing ABB customers to fully realize the potential allowed by digitalization. One major US steel manufacturer collaborated with ABB to implement the ABB Ability™ Energy Management System. The solution provided the manufacturer with much-needed visibility into their energy consumption patterns. By integrating with production data, the system allowed the manufacturer to identify their most energy-intensive processes and correlate energy use with specific steel grades. This newfound understanding is expected to deliver significant energy savings, with ABB’s system contributing 1-1.5 percent towards the manufacturer's ambitious 10 percent reduction target.

“The metals industry is the backbone of global infrastructure, but issues associated with productivity and sustainability are holding it back from unleashing its full potential,” said Frederik Esterhuizen, Global Business Line Manager, Metals, ABB Process Industries. “We’re helping plants across the globe to forge a new path by utilizing digitalization, fostering a collaborative working environment that allows them to take control of their operations and continually identify areas for improvement. Using our deep domain expertise, we’re working alongside our customers and partners to develop solutions for a more productive, sustainable, and successful future for the metals industry.”