Energy efficiency in industry 4.0: assessing the potential of industry 4.0 to achieve 2030 decarbonisation targets

Abstract

The energy transition for the industrial sector is not limited to a reduction in energy consumption: the real issue is to combine sustainability with growth, by mixing the two ingredients (the rational energy use and the industrial growth) which are not always compatible. The National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and the New Green Deal policies in Italy have the goal to promote an economic development as well as the environment sustainability and social inclusion. RSE 1 has investigated the role of the national incentive plan 'Impresa 4.0' in Italy (currently 'Transizione 4.0', equivalent to 'Industry 4.0') as a measure to promote the energy transition, analysing whether and how is it possible to combine economic development with energy efficiency. Originally, it was developed to increase the competitiveness of industrial sector, but, progressively, it was also used to promote energy efficiency and sustainability. A survey was carried out by RSE on about 300 companies that implemented innovation and digitalisation interventions, monitoring the effects and impacts that the '4.0 choice' has determined on energy consumption, on their environmental externalities and, in general, on other costs. Moreover, some case studies were collected, together with a database of 'Impresa 4.0' application, which supported technical and economic evaluations. The impact of these measures on energy performance of the companies was estimated from the analysis of actual projects and from interviews and discussions with the operators. In this paper, the results of the survey are presented and the outcomes are analysed in comparison with the Italian manufacturing sector performance, in order to establish the potential of 'Impresa 4.0' policies in supporting the decarbonisation process and reaching 2030 environmental targets.

Challenges and prospects of decarbonization of the economy in the age of AI

“…Unlike Doroshuk (2021), Maggiore et al (2021), Parmar et al ( 2022), Qi et al (2022), it has been proven that in the era of artificial intelligence there are no obstacles to decarbonization, but on the contrary, new opportunities have been created for this. Using only disruptive innovations of industry 4.0 (for example, only robots) can hinder the reduction or even increase the number of carbon emissions, as well as slow down the transition to "clean" energy.…”

“…And "clean" energy today is not able to cover the growing demands of the economy in energy, which does not allow reduction and may even lead to a forced growth in carbon emissions. In this regard, in the works of Doroshuk (2021), Maggiore et al (2021), Parmar et al (2022, Qi et al (2022), the AI era is considered an unfavourable time and an unfriendly technological landscape for decarbonization.…”

Global Monitoring of the Development of Digital Energetics Based on the Technologies of Industry 4.0: IoT, Blockchain, Robots, and Artificial Intelligence

“…In contrast to Maggiore et al (2021), Morelli et al (2022), Wachnik et al (2022), andZaidan et al (2022), it was justified that, in order to take advantage of the use of advanced technologies of Industry 4.0 in the energy economy, it is advisable to actively use them only in entrepreneurship, while their use in society and the state does not provide advantages with the current approach to the development of the energy economy based on Industry 4.0 technologies. The reasoning of this conclusion is based on the revealed absence of a positive contribution of the government AI Readiness Index to the sustainability of energy.…”

“…In the works of Amir et al (2022), Chen et al (2022), Favi et al (2022), and Vlasov et al (2019, the use of advanced Industry 4.0 technologies in the energy economy provides advantages in both production and distribution processes. Maggiore et al (2021), Morelli et al (2022), Wachnik et al (2022), andZaidan et al (2022) indicated that, in order to fully take benefit of the advanced technologies of Industry 4.0 in the energy economy, it is advisable to actively use them by representatives of all interested parties: energy companies, state regulators of the energy economy, and energy consumers. Baxter (2012), Inshakov et al (2019), Kabeyi and Olanrewaju (2022), Kapitonov et al (2019), Kluczek et al (2021), andRatner et al (2022) stated that the digitalization of the energy economy based on advanced technologies of Industry 4.0 is universal-it is suitable for all countries, regardless of their energy efficiency, role, and position in global energy markets.…”

“…The studies by Haddouche and Ilinca (2022), Kanoun et al (2021), Maggiore et al (2021), Matsunaga et al (2022), Morelli et al (2022), Otoum et al (2022), Wachnik et al (2022) refer to IoT, Blockchain, robots, and AI as the most advanced and most common technologies of Industry 4.0 in the energy economy. The problem lies in the fact that despite the advantages of digital energetics disclosed in detail in the existing literature (Popkova, 2022), there is still much uncertainty as to whether these advantages are achieved in practice and how to maximize them.…”