Energy-Saving Technology Opportunities and Investments of the Italian Foundry Industry

Abstract

The foundry industry is regarded as one of the most energy-intensive industrial sector due to its energy consumption up to 9 MWh/ton of produced metal. As a result, many companies are trying to increase the energy efficiency of their foundry plants. Since many energy-saving technologies are proposed by manufacturers and the literature, choosing the most appropriate one is a difficult task. Moreover, being updated with the available energy-saving solutions is complicated because of the quick technology advances. Consequently, this paper aims at investigating the recent and future opportunities and investments for reducing the energy consumptions of the technologies of Italian foundry companies. Additionally, it aims at presenting a list of available technological solutions validated by Italian experts. To this end, the Energy Audits developed by 231 plants were analyzed to extract the implemented and planned interventions. Furthermore, the economic data available within the Energy Audits were studied to determine the advantages of a given technological solutions compared to the others. It emerged that the companies are strongly investing in increasing the efficiency of the auxiliary systems such as compressors and motors. The outcomes of this study can assist both researchers and energy managers in choosing the most appropriate energy-saving solutions.

Special Issue “Industry and Tertiary Sectors towards Clean Energy Transition”

“…The increased attention on energy efficiency, both at the national and international levels, has fostered the diffusion and development of specific energy consumption benchmarks for most relevant economic sectors. In this Special Issue, several articles examine energy consumption and the energy efficiency potential at sectoral level [1][2][3][4]. Energy audits (EAs) provide comprehensive information about the energy usage in a specific facility, identifying and quantifying cost-effective energy performance improvement actions (EPIAs).…”

“…As far as studies at sectoral level are concerned, four single sectors are examined, one in the tertiary sector and three in the industrial sector [1,[3][4][5]. In the second group, the refining sector is analysed; it is peculiar due to its key role in energy production [5].…”

“…Choosing the most appropriate technological solution is a difficult task for several reasons, such as the high number of energy-saving technologies proposed by manufacturers and the literature, as well as rapid technological advances. Leoni et al [3] investigated opportunities for reducing the energy consumption of Italian foundry companies and presents a list of available technological solutions validated by experts. Implemented and planned interventions were extracted from the EAs database, and the advantages of each technological solution were studied.…”

Energy Efficiency Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Review

“…Energy efficiency can be enhanced though the implementation of energy-efficient technologies [9], operational improvements [10], and energy-oriented maintenance [11,12]. Despite the strong connection between these aspects, they are usually researched separately.…”

Technological Energy Efficiency Improvements in Glass-Production Industries and Their Future Perspectives in Italy

“…Interventions may consider both the assets composing the production process for glass production as well as auxiliary systems (e.g., engines, compressors). Other sectors propose analyses of technological interventions for the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes, such as the cement industry [8] and the foundries industry [9].…”