Page 49 - European Energy Innovation - Spring 2016 publication
P. 49
Spring 2016 European Energy Innovation 49
FACTORIES OF THE FUTURE
this understanding is central to our models for production, and factory measuring the key factors affecting the
approach. To date the ‘Factories of the energy and resource planning environmental and economic impact.
Future’ programme has launched more tools. The ultimate aim is to achieve As part of this process the project
than 200 research and innovation a substantial increase in energy- will develop new business models to
projects with more to follow. ‘Factories efficiency through the intelligent increase energy-efficiency so that it is
of the Future’ projects tackle the employment of renewable energy not simply a matter for one technology
challenge of energy efficiency through technologies. or another, but rather a holistic
different approaches. A number of strategy.
examples illustrate such approaches. Another energy-focused project is
MEMAN, which is concerned with With an emphasis on sustainable
The REEMAIN project focuses on integral material and energy-flow predictive maintenance, the SUPREME
resource and energy-efficiency in management. It is focusing on how project aims to develop and use
manufacturing through innovation energy and raw materials flow through advanced signal and data processing
in technologies for better use of a production chain, analysing all the dedicated to predictive maintenance
renewables, predictive simulation stages of a manufacturing process and and the reduction of energy
consumption.
These three project examples show
how the ‘Factories of the Future’
partnership is addressing the
challenge of greater energy efficiency
through different approaches with
research and innovation that can
be applied within specific sectors
or across them. This application
means that the ‘Factories of the
Future’ partnership will substantially
contribute to reducing energy
consumption. Looking towards
the future it is already possible to
foresee factories which are low
energy consumers, production lines
which drive efficiencies to new levels
and factories that are sites of self-
generation. Realising such possibilities
requires both ambition and vision.
Europe’s ‘Factories of the Future’
partnership has both. l
© EFFRA Contact details:
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
Patrick Kennedy
Communications Advisor
EFFRA
Email: patrick.kennedy@effra.eu
www.effra.eu
