Digital diligence essential in shaping new energy era models

Caspar Herzberg, CEO of AVEVA, discusses the industry’s ongoing evolution and his company’s role in driving it forward

How is AVEVA focusing on energy transition and helping the industry advance solutions?

We believe trusted data-led technologies are essential to decarbonisation. They deliver innovative products in the net-zero economy and drive responsible use of the world’s resources. Digital technologies are also integral to building new industries and supply chains that will deliver sustainable growth, and create jobs.

An industrial enterprise looking to become more sustainable can use digital technology to speed up the process from the design and build of new green facilities, to operating them more efficiently and conserving energy at existing plants.

What is specific about our industrial software is that it also provides a way to accurately baseline data and measure progress. In fact, our technology supports optimisation, collaboration and identifies ways to reduce carbon emissions across the entire lifecycle of the industrial asset.

Boosting efficiency can be challenging, particularly in the absence of reliable data. This is where we play a key role, leveraging artificial intelligence, big data, and digital technologies.

In a nutshell, our customers use AVEVA software across the value chain, from design to operations and analytics to achieve their goals of emissions reductions, carbon capture and storage (Aker Carbon Capture), advancing hydrogen economy, optimisation of biofuels production (Neste), supporting renewable energy generation, transmission and management (Xcel, EDF, Dominion Energy).

What opportunities are arising from energy sector decarbonisation?

Climate change is a key accelerator of the fourth industrial revolution. Limiting global warming is the biggest challenge of our time, but simultaneously also our greatest opportunity. It’s in our hands to make decisions that will hasten positive action on climate change, while ensuring we build resilient global economies that drive real and lasting growth and create jobs in zero carbon sectors.

The Energy Transition is driving growth and innovation both through the development of new technologies and the adaptation of existing systems. Digital transformation is essential to making both mitigation and adaptation a reality, and to accelerating the move to lower carbon operating models.

We need new industries, new partnerships, new technologies and new business models to meet this challenge. More than ever, we need collaboration on an unprecedented scale, and we need clear, coherent roadmaps.
Clean hydrogen is a critical enabler of the global transition to sustainable energy and is vital if we are to achieve a net-zero economy, but will require a new transportation, distribution and robust regulatory approach to operate successfully as an alternative fuel.

Nations across the world are racing to develop green hydrogen technologies and to deploy them at scale. In Egypt, a variety of leading companies are exploring domestic uses for clean hydrogen, including strengthening the resilience of the electricity grid. The government has recently released a $40 billion national hydrogen plan that envisages a “pipeline for green hydrogen” with 11.62 GW capacity.

Another example is in Angola where state energy company Sonangol is set to become the first supplier of green hydrogen to Germany using hydroelectricity. The factory is expected to initially produce 280,000 tons of green ammonia for export in 2024, once built.

Looking at the private sector, digital engineering solutions are enabling industry leaders such as Fortescue Future Industries to design and simulate the performance of new hydrogen production plants. By creating these designs in the cloud, companies like Fortescue are creating new innovation blueprints for the hydrogen economy which can be easily deployed across the world. And in the Middle East, Saudi Aramco is also exploring how it can accelerate energy transition by building an extensive fleet of green and blue hydrogen plants.

What are you showcasing during ADIPEC?

AVEVA will put the spotlight on digital solutions that drive measurable emission reductions and accelerate the energy transition of hard-to-abate industries such as steel, cement, and petrochemicals.

Our entire portfolio of cutting-edge digital solutions will be showcased through three demo pods. Visitors will find out how an integrated ecosystem relying on AVEVA Data Hub can bring to life the concept of a connected Emirates while supporting the energy transition of the UAE/Middle East; how AI-powered predictive analytics allows businesses to identify asset anomalies weeks or months before potential failure and remediate problems to maximise reliability and prevent unplanned downtime; and how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations in the energy ecosystem, providing the connected worker with the most relevant information for more effective decision making.

AVEVA’s Digital Twin technology enables value chain optimisation and better asset performance management, helping achieve superior performance in carbon neutrality and safety. The AVEVA Unified Operations Centre is another highlight; it provides a 360-degree view of plant operations with increased visibility of energy sources, consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions data.

AVEVA is holding demonstrations of AVEVA Connect (cloud platform) at its partners Schneider Electric and Microsoft’s booths, illustrating how industrial companies can drive innovation, growth, and sustainability by adopting a trusted cloud platform designed to meet their unique needs.