E2COMATION and the revolution of European Manufacturing
E2COMATION offers a platform for the transition to an integrated, energy-efficient production paradigm, optimizing performances and revenues of the manufacturing sector.
Nowadays, all countries are facing unprecedented challenges resulting from increased dependence on energy imports and scarce energy resource. E2COMATION adresses the optimization of energy usage at the multiple hierarchical layers of the manufacturing process, while considering the whole life-cycle perspective across the value chain. The platform combines a cross-sectorial methodological framework with modularity to monitor, predict, and evaluate the impact of the behaviour of a factory across energy and the life-cycle assessment dimensions. E2COMATION is the revolution of the production paradigm based on energy efficiency and sustainable management.E2COMATION: AI for a smart energy usage
Name of the project:
E2COMATION: Life-cycle optimization of Industrial Energy Efficiency by a distributed control and decision-making automation platformDuration:
OngoingYears:
2020 – ongoing
Target markets:
Manufacturing
Partners:
STIIMA Sistemi e Tecnologie Industriali Intelligenti per il Manifatturiero Avanzato, SUPSI University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, nxtControl, Synesis sustainabile automation, SIGMAtools, KU LEUVEN, ATC Athens Technology center, Software Ag, SimPlan, AIDIMME Technology institute, SCM Group, Designo, Kastamonu, Royo, CRIT, Mahou San Miguel, Robopac, OCME Moving Ideas, Cordis.
Funder:
European Commission EC – Horizon 2020
Overall project investments:
10.560.000,00
Funding:
8.105.775,00
our solution
Though much effort is being put into the development and implementation of renewable energy sources, such solutions and technologies are not applicable some industry sectors. In such cases, the effort should be on reducing and optimizing energy consumption, minimizing the use of fossil fuels whenever possible.
The E2COMATION project takes up and addresses these challenges developing a methodological approach and technological framework that not only embeds LCA-driven reasoning criteria into a comprehensive decision support architecture, but also guarantees that the corresponding information streams are elaborated by energy-optimizing, intelligent algorithms.
The solution is composed of six pillars:
- Pillar 1: modular and distributed automation and computing DevOps platform for energy-efficient factories.
- Pillar 2: simulation and data-analysis framework for energy- and environmental-aware digital twins.
- Pillar 3: intra-factory optimization of multi-scale sustainability performance.
- Pillar 4: integration of LCA criteria to improve process, product and supply chain sustainability.
- Pillar 5: validation and demonstration of E2COMATION solutions within the wood-working value chain
- Pillar 6: Validation and demonstration of E2COMATION solutions within the food and beverage value chain.
The overall framework allows for the calculation of real-time performance metrics and diagnostic activities with perceptually efficient visualization options.
ADVANTAGES
The benefits resulting from the adoption of the E2COMATION solution span across several areas:
- Savings: as the solution proposes energy usage optimization through artificial intelligence techniques, a direct benefit of its implementation are savings. And this does not refer to monetary savings only, but to all areas where optimization is involved – time, resource alllocation, costs, and so much more.
- Sustainability: where switching to renewabl sources is an unrealistic perspective, using AI to reduce energy usage proves to be the most efficient way to contribute to a more sustainable future. This is how the challenge of sustainability is turned into a KPI.
- Efficiency: change, optimization and digital transformation align culture and nature of the organization to current competitor behavoiur and general trends, increasing business efficiency and overall value. This alignment is systematically made possible by a clear view that the platform offers of multi-context data – historical, current, and future – and its meaning.
- A forever change: the E2COMATION solution is not the answer to a momentaneous business urge or infrastructural need. Through simulation, forecasting and planning technologies, the platform paves the way for a truly pervasive transition to digital optimization that extends in the future.