Since the dawn of time, humans have used energy sources to keep us warm and safe. But, in the face of rapid industrialization and technological advancements, modern society has relied and become dependent on fossil fuels for power generation.
The scientific community has warned us that unmitigated carbon emissions will exacerbate global warming and threaten our health, agriculture, water supply, biodiversity, and natural ecosystems. The Paris Agreement, adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) on 12 December 2015, became our roadmap for climate redemption.
The effect of this crisis is felt most in Africa, the second largest continent on our planet and home to more than a billion people. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa accounts for around 20 percent of the world’s population but attracts less than three percent of spending on energy. Africa also has the lowest emissions per capita of any region as per the IEA’s 2022 report. With severe climate change impacts and lower investment on energy, Africa faces a rising demand for an uninterrupted electricity supply.
Addressing this challenge requires a focus on energy security and a shift towards renewable energy in Africa. With industries in the region already adopting renewable energy, ensuring a stable, affordable, and uninterrupted electricity supply is equally important to securing Africa’s energy sector.
ABB’s Energy Industries division is making a world of difference in helping industries across Africa automate, digitalize, and electrify their operations to optimize productivity and ensure operational efficiency while driving sustainability.
Our integrated automation and digital solutions support many customers worldwide in developing new and renewable energy models – enabling energy-efficient and low-carbon operations across traditional industries. ABB Energy Industries has ongoing projects with customers from the oil and gas, chemicals, power generation, life sciences, and water industries.
We understand that energy is essential for society to progress even further, and the entire energy mix, including hydrocarbons, has a role to play. By prioritizing the efficient production and processing of resources, with their responsible use, we can enable industries to reduce emissions, as part of the transition to net zero by 2050. Our many years of experience allows us to support industries in Africa and other regions to meet their commitments and maximize the value of their operational investments while reducing carbon emissions, waste, and costs throughout the energy transition journey. ABB Energy Industries division is enabling the energy transition process in Africa in a more sustainable manner.
One example of how ABB makes a difference is in Gas. The technology we use for gas pipelines helps meet the world’s needs, and our analytical equipment detects leaks for further actions. We also worked on developing dual-fuel propulsion for liquefied natural gas ships, enabling them to utilize electric power as they deliver this fuel to where it’s needed.
Some of our customers on the African continent struggle with delivering an uninterrupted energy supply due to various factors. Our ability to integrate power and process automation helps to stabilize energy supply, particularly when incorporating renewables. The ABB Ability™ System 800xA ® distributed control system plays a central role in ensuring a secure, stable, and affordable energy supply for industries.
Another solution that enables balancing energy demand with availability is the ABB Ability™ OPTIMAX® energy management system. It provides operators insights on energy consumption and consolidates data from various sources. When customers consider new energy projects, minimizing risk and optimizing costs are essential. And with ABB Adaptive Execution™ methodology, the traditional project approach evolves to deliver results faster and with CAPEX savings of up to 40 percent.
While energy projects are under construction, one must reduce energy demand to increase availability. ABB’s digital solutions deliver performance insights and empower industries to optimize energy use. These solutions include asset condition monitoring, asset health and management, predictive maintenance, energy management, simulation, virtual commissioning, remote support, and collaborative operations.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, we have a strong footprint backed by our skills, customer-centricity, products, and solutions. Whether you are looking at new energy sources or struggling with older power generation technologies, working together is the only way we can make a world of difference in progressing to a net zero future.
By: Edith Kikonyogo
