You think you’ve got worries trying to keep your home electricity bill under control?
Imagine dealing with powering a manufacturing plant with tens or even hundreds of thousands of square feet under roof housing a plethora of energy-consuming machines. A factory’s cost of lighting and heating and air conditioning alone can be into the six figures annually – and maybe more.
It’s enough to keep a plant manager or operator of a manufacturer – small or big – awake at night. Or worse yet, it has the potential to put them out of business.
Does that sound melodramatic? Earlier this year, Europe’s fertilizer plants, steel mills and chemical manufacturers were the first to succumb. Massive paper mills, soybean processors, and electronics factories in Asia have also struggled with power costs.
Now the problem is hitting closer to home. In June, 600 workers at the second-largest U.S. aluminum mill, accounting for 20% of the nation’s supply, were told they were losing their jobs because the plant couldn’t afford its electricity bill that has tripled in a matter of months. Century Aluminum Co. says it will idle the Hawesville, Kentucky, mill for as long as a year.
Century Aluminum isn’t the only manufacturer struggling, and it’s no wonder. Electricity rates for industrial customers this year are set to hit record highs, based on U.S. government forecasts.
The problem goes beyond electricity. From early first quarter to late second quarter of this year, prices for natural gas – another key energy source for manufacturers – tripled.
An innovative, tech-driven collaboration spearheaded by Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame aimed at helping manufacturers minimize energy costs may be coming at the perfect time. The collaboration, which launched the AnalytiXIN project, also involves significant participation from the business sector.
The three major research institutions in collaboration with Conexus Indiana, Energy Systems Network, Emerging Manufacturing Collaboration Center and Amazon Web Service (AWS) will develop advanced energy and manufacturing models and analytics applications focused on reducing manufacturers’ energy and carbon footprints. The project will help to increase factory efficiency and enhance sustainability in different manufacturing sectors using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
“Currently, over 95% of Indiana manufacturers do not have analytics to correlate their energy usage with factory assembly lines, machines, shifts, operator usage patterns and more,” states Raj Acharya, associate vice president for research and AI innovation at IU, the John H. Rudy Professor of Computing, Engineering and Informatics at the Luddy School and principal investigator on the project. “This understanding, coupled with solutions to detected problems, will allow manufacturers to immediately see the improvement in their energy usage processes.”
Researchers at the three universities will collect and analyze data gathered from test sites and the newly launched statewide Energy INsights program to develop energy analytics applications. They’ll also create a centralized data storage and processing platform. The data models and analytics applications will provide insights on actions manufacturers of various sizes can take to reduce energy consumption.
Energy INsights is a first-of-its-kind statewide program developed in collaboration with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and AWS to use AI and data science to reduce energy costs and improve sustainability for Indiana manufacturers.
The IEDC is allocating $5 million in grants to Indiana manufacturers to participate in Energy INsights, which was launched in March. The AnalytiXIN project will build on the deployment of Energy INsights to provide additional expertise and a forum of collaboration among manufacturers enrolled in the program.
“AnalytiXIN engages industry, academic and public-sector partners in meaningful ways to develop and deploy new technologies that will continue to strengthen Indiana’s advanced industries,” says Fred Cartwright, Conexus Indiana president and CEO. “Projects like this not only leverage the capabilities of our leading research universities, but also position Indiana as a world leader in data sciences, energy and advanced manufacturing.”
Emphasizes Dave Roberts, IEDC executive vice president of entrepreneurship and innovation, “When we consider how to quickly and effectively increase energy efficiency in Indiana, starting with our manufacturers makes so much sense as the country’s most manufacturing-intensive state.”
