Industry plays a key role in the energy revolution

Thursday, 26.01.2017

• Great savings potential through production process optimisation

• Production machines become energy storage devices – Shifting consumption peaks to phases of weaker electricity demand

• Tax incentives for investments are overdue

Industry in Austria plays a key role for achieving the climate objectives of the 2030 climate agreement, which were set at the 2015 climate change conference in Paris. The experts at the “Energiewende in der Industrie” (Energy Revolution in Industry) event, which was organised by Leitbetriebe Austria, agreed that the only opportunity to achieve the ambitious saving objectives is to make the quick and best possible use of the optimisation potentials in industrial production. “In addition to transportation and housing, industry can form the third strong pillar of the energy revolution. This involves the optimisation of production sites and machinery, as well as the manufacture of energy-efficient products”, emphasised Leitbetriebe Austria Managing Director Monica Rintersbacher. “The climate objectives are not just any statistical values, they are a key question for us all. The Austrian Leitbetriebe (leading companies) are well aware of their responsibility and they are pioneers in this respect. Since it is important that other companies also follow these role models, we have added environmental responsibility, energy conservation and CO2 reduction to our key themes for 2017.”

Leitbetriebe Austria network partner Salvagnini Maschinenbau GmbH, whose production site in Ennsdorf was the venue for the event, illustrates how great the optimisation potential is in terms of energy efficiency. The globally active specialist for sheet metal working machines received the klima-aktiv award for its energy-saving measures in 2016 and it is an absolute model company with regard to climate protection efforts. “We were able to save 230,000 kWh through site measures alone, such as LED lighting, heating with heat recovery or high-speed hall doors, but the potential in the actual production process is many times greater”, explained Wolfgang Kunze, Salvagnini Technical Manager and Head of the Ennsdorf site.

Photo: MMag. Martin Wagner – GF Verbund Solutions GmbH, Mag. Monica Rintersbacher – GF Leitbetriebe Austria, Ing. Wolfgang Kunze MSc MBA – CTO Salvagnini Maschinenbau GmbH

Copyright: Sabine Klimpt

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