Managing energy is an increasingly complex challenge for manufacturers. Energy prices continue to rise, making up an increasingly large percentage of total overheads for many manufacturers. At the same time, pressure is growing from legislation, supply chain partners and customers to demonstrate substantial, quantifiable progress towards net zero. For many, failing to act isn’t an option in the face of steadily increases to both costs and the risk of power issues disrupting productivity. However, finding the solutions that balances sustainability, resilience and cost effectiveness is difficult.
Powerstar have produced a white paper that outlines the implications that Industry 4.0 and the shift towards net zero will have on manufacturers and their power resilience. With 20 years’ experience supporting manufacturers in protecting their sites and productivity from the risk of power disruption, Powerstar lay out why resilience is now more important than ever, as well as the options available to improve it.
What can you expect from the white paper?
The shift to Industry 4.0 presents a huge opportunity for UK manufacturers to increase productivity and build more connected processes and supply chains. Properly implemented, it can offer reductions in downtime, improvements in quality and production, better asset utilisation and huge increases in overall productivity. However, the increasingly interconnected nature of Industry 4.0 makes manufacturing sites even more dependent on a stable and interrupted power supply.
At the same time, the UK’s drive towards a 2050 net zero deadline that is rapidly approaching presents additional power resilience challenges. As the UK transitions towards a generation mix largely supported by renewable generation, we face an energy system that while clean, is inherently inflexible. While fossil fuel generation can easily be turned up or down, renewable generation is inherently linked to weather conditions we can’t control. This means National Grid face an increasingly difficult task balancing changing generation and demand.