Sponsored content: How far can motor energy efficiency go?

In its communications, why does ABB consistently make such a strong plea for faster and wider adoption of energy efficiency?

Energy efficiency means getting more from the same amount of energy or achieving the same results with less energy. It's all about cutting out energy waste and using power more wisely.

Energy efficiency reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which limits global warming - but beyond those direct benefits, it also brings with it ancillary paybacks which result from productivity gains, by lowering maintenance costs and increasing production yields per unit of input.

The Net Zero Roadmap from the International Energy Agency (IEA) stresses that while limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2030 is challenging, it is achievable. Energy efficiency is seen as the most significant, quickest, and cost-effective measure to meet these targets.

Technology companies like ABB have a vital role to play in not only manufacturing energy efficient products, but also helping to explain how efficient performance can significantly reduce life-cycle costs and enhance sustainability. And electric motors play a major part.

What tangible impact can ABB IEC LV Motors have in addressing global warming, which is arguably the most pressing challenge facing humanity?

Electric motors use around 45 per cent of all global electricity. They drive equipment like pumps, fans, and compressors, consuming about two-thirds of industrial electricity. Over the past decade, this equipment has accounted for 60 per cent of the growth in energy demand.

Today, around 300 million motors run in industrial plants. Upgrading these motor-driven systems to high-efficiency versions could cut worldwide electricity consumption by up to 10 per cent - more than Poland’s annual power consumption.

In the industrial sector, the greatest potential for reducing electricity use and emissions lies in improving the efficiency of electric motors and devices like pumps and fans. This explains why ABB and our IEC LV Motors division claims a front row seat when it comes to making an impact on reducing CO2 emissions.

In this context, it makes sense that the industry has developed efficiency standards. Can you elaborate on what these are, and to what extent they’ve been adopted?

Policymakers worldwide aim to meet climate and sustainability targets by improving energy efficiency standards. Industry associations in combination with government action have established minimum energy performance standards (MEPS). The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) introduced efficiency classes for specific electric motors, which serve as a basis for MEPS.

Electric motors must meet these efficiency standards, linked to conditions such as power, number of poles, and operating mode, to enter the market. Multiple countries have already adopted IEC standards for their MEPS, though some regions, such as North America, use local classifications such as NEMA.

IEC standards have so far officially included five distinct levels, with each level defined by achieving 20 per cent fewer energy losses than the last. Motors in the IE1 or IE2 categories are considered inefficient. IE3 motors achieve roughly 96 per cent efficiency, with IE4 at almost 97 per cent, and so on.

Currently, more than 60 countries have implemented MEPS. The EU, UK, and Turkey moved to MEPS IE4 within a decade.

The EU’s Ecodesign Directive, effective since July 2023, mandates IE4 energy efficiency for motors between 75 and 200kW. The IE5 standard, targeting a 20 per cent loss reduction compared to IE4, is currently under discussion, with legislative agreements pending.

A sewage treatment plant in Bocholt, Germany, switched from IE3 to ABB’s IE5 SynRM motors, paired with ultra-low harmonic drives, reducing power consumption by 40 per cent. This demonstrates the practical benefits of IE5 motors and ABB’s role in driving stricter standards. Advanced technologies are already delivering significant efficiency gains, even ahead of formal regulations.

While IE5 is yet to become widespread, ABB very recently launched an IE6 electric motor technology it calls “Hyper-Efficient”. Can you explain the innovation behind this offering?

IE6 Hyper-Efficiency is the next logical step after IE5, despite lacking official standards. We are working on the premise that so far, each higher IE efficiency class has had 20 per cent lower losses than the previous one. This “20 per cent principle” is very well-known among market participants and therefore, ABB’s view is that IE6 is understood as offering 20 per cent lower losses than IE5.

Reaching IE6 is not the actual breakthrough, as this has been achieved with other motor technologies. The real innovation, and what ABB offers as a world’s first, is that our IE6 solution combines the performance of a Permanent magnet motor with the simplicity and service-friendliness of an induction motor. The rotor in a SynRM motor has neither magnets nor windings and suffers virtually no power losses.

The design also requires no rare earth metals and offers a high level of usability due to the wide availability of suitable variable speed drives (VSDs) to provide the required control capabilities. The result is that IE6 Hyper-Efficiency is now a cost-effective option for a wide range of applications and industrial sectors, which was an important goal for us.

Why is ABB pushing beyond official standards, and what impact you are expecting from such avant-garde solutions?

Championing Hyper-Efficient solutions is a clear demonstration of how ABB delivers on its sustainability strategy and purpose: accelerating the energy transition to enable a low-carbon society and resource-efficient future with our technology leadership.

Studies suggest that the rate of progress made, measured in energy intensity - the main metric used for the energy efficiency of the global economy - has so far disappointed. The pace of global energy intensity improvements had noticeably slowed in the second half of the last decade and virtually stalled during the first two years of Covid-19.

This now means that we must simply double the global pace of energy efficiency progress to be able to reach net zero emissions.

Through the launch of the Hyper-Efficient IE6 SynRM, ABB aims to help our customers achieve their sustainability targets, advocate for a swifter adoption of stricter Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), and actively promote the uptake of leading-edge, energy-efficient technologies.

Looking ahead, what does the technology roadmap for energy-efficient motors look like? How does ABB envision itself contributing to this future?

Efficiency is something that we've stood for and worked on for decades, and we will continue to strive to be the best and most innovative company in that field.

Research and development will center on creating applications that improve not only efficiency but also process control and yield. Digitalization and artificial intelligence will be increasingly and more tightly embedded in products to improve operations and enable predictive maintenance.

We will continue making efforts to simplify interactions with partners and customers through improved selection and engineering tools, as well as a user-friendly and efficient e-commerce platform. Superior customer experience and support must make it easy to navigate the ever-increasing technology and regulation complexity and make it comfortable for customers to make informed decisions.

IEC LV Motors stands for premium products based on reliability, efficiency, and technology leadership. We are always advancing our application expertise and building on our domain knowledge, as we do everything we can to innovate and be the first to bring the best solutions to the market.

Ivor Vidjen, Global Head of Strategy and Business Development for IEC Low Voltage Motors, ABB