As Asia moves towards decarbonisation, it has spurred countries to review their industries’ energy consumption, with a key player being the region’s food & beverage industry.
Home to 60% of the world’s population and a quarter of the world’s economy, Asia will drive the lion’s share of the world’s energy demand growth in the next decade. Balancing economic development with the need for urgent climate actions, while maintaining reliable and secure energy access, will be the defining challenge for the region in the next decade. Meanwhile, with the food sector responsible for about 30% of global energy consumption, food manufacturers and processors play a critical role in driving Asia towards its sustainability ambitions.
AFBR has the opportunity to interview a spokesperson from Grundfos to find out more on how its intelligent pump systems could help achieve the energy reduction targets set by companies and countries alike. The following are excerpts from the interview.
Can Grundfos tell us more about its intelligent pump systems?
Grundfos has been developing pumps for nearly 80 years. We launched the circulator pump UPE equipped with a micro frequency converter in 1991, which is the world’s first intelligent pump and resulted in enormous energy savings. Since then, we have always been at the forefront of intelligent pump and pump systems. Our products and solutions including digital dosing pumps, electronically controlled E-pump series and iSOLUTIONS range that focuses on optimising water efficiency across the entire system have been pushing the limits in energy efficiency. In turn, we have played a key role in helping our customers reduce their resource consumption, operating costs, and carbon footprint.
How can these solutions help F&B manufacturers achieve cost and energy reductions ?
Energy use accounts for at least 15% of total operational costs in a F&B manufacturing business. Given the critical role of pumps across major utility and process system at any F&B plant, they have significant potential in energy and cost savings.
In 2022, Grundfos has been appointed to identify, report and achieve energy reductions across Arla Foods’ 60 global dairy sites, helping to enhance core systems by replacing pumping systems with high efficiency systems with state-of-the-art motors, pumps and controls.
At present, we have assessed two thirds of Arla Foods’ sites and have identified annual savings of 7 gigawatt-hours, with total expected savings around 10 gigawatt-hours.
As part of this project, we have replaced the old pumps with our new intelligent pumps for chilled and iced water applications at Arla Westbury dairy in UK, leading to savings per year of 481,800 kWh energy and 194 tons CO2, with a return on investment of less than 2 years.
Can Grundfos share more about its process of assessing energy saving opportunities and implementing the suitable solutions in Arla Westbury dairy?
Grundfos first conducted a tailored energy assessment of pump performance, which measured the actual energy consumption in the system and identified inefficiencies. Based on our findings and analysis, we then advised Arla on a suitable selection of intelligent pumps and controls, and delivered a turnkey end-to-end system for chilled and ice water including installation, piping and commissioning, and validation of savings.
How can other F&B manufacturers similarly collaborate with Grundfos to improve their energy savings?
The F&B sector is one of the key focus for Grundfos. To better serve end-users in the sector, we set up a specialised F&B team in 2021, focusing on dairies, breweries, food processing, and soft drinks across key global F&B markets.
With our expertise in pumps and in-depth understanding of the F&B sector, we are well positioned to support F&B manufacturers with energy optimisation, operation and repair services at existing plants, as well as the construction of new energy-efficient plants.
What are some examples of F&B industries that have successfully leveraged Grundfos’ solutions?
One example is our work with Carlsberg, a beer producer. Together with other partners, Grundfos supported the development of a Total Water Management (TWM) treatment plant at Carlsberg’s production facility in Fredericia, Denmark, which allows the plant to recover and reuse 90% of its process water. The TWM model is critical to Carlsberg’s ambition to reduce water use in its breweries by 50% by 2030.
How important is it for F&B manufacturers to move quickly towards a Zero Carbon footprint?
Faced with soaring electricity bills and heighted stakeholder pressure, it is a huge competitive advantage for F&B manufacturers who are able to operate more sustainably. However, as a major energy consumer and GHG emitter, the F&B sector also plays a key role in moving the needle on the sustainability agenda globally. This is especially true in Asia, where population growth and urbanization continue to push up demand for food.
