Industry insiders versed on the subject of industrial decarbonization can reel off long lists of environmental policies until their morning coffees grow cold. As for the rest of us, we need a primer, a means of understanding the correlation between motor technology and heavy carbon wastage. Without that link, environmental engineers can’t hope to account for all the emissions hidden within these fast-spinning industrial machines.

For the cold truth of the matter, and that’s the only thing that’s cold about this problem, climate change isn’t letting up. Heatwaves are getting hotter, sea levels are rising, and nasty weather extremes are hitting harder. As good stewards of our environment, factories are doing their part, swapping out carbon-spewing fossil fuel systems for greener alternatives.

The issue with older components is clear enough. Antiquated motors are inefficient, designed to work full-out, without pause or adjustment while they waste energy, and money. Unless changes are made, and right now, the consequences will only worsen.

The IPCC role in greenhouse gas reduction

With the contraction unpacked, the acronym shouts out authority. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) really is a bold title for a UN body, one that’s determined to do more than form committees. They’re actively pursuing methods of significantly reducing carbon. More than half of current worldwide power consumption is due to electric motors. If that figure accounts for all motors, imagine how culpable large industrial motors become in this scenario.

The IPCC and IEA-4E are also implementing international emission reduction measures within their motor technology divisions. Add to that The Department of Energy and the European Commission, and numerous high-efficiency motor technologies are bound to sail into view. In point of fact, there’s a number of design practices available, but they’re not the high-technology designs described in this post. For example, with basic hardware design, stator and rotor windings, loaded with high-impedance copper windings, can be improved by using lower resistance alloys.

Metallurgically sound after iterative alloy advancements, low-resistance coils removing windings heat, engineers are left free to focus on those high-end motor technologies as the ultimate means of boosting tomorrow’s industrial decarbonization initiatives.

Circuitry enhancements for minimizing motor wastage issues

Variable speed systems are first up on the list. By allowing motors to run only as fast as the load requires, these drives prevent energy from being wasted. Electronic sensors measure the load characteristics of an industrial machine, feedback the power profile to a variable drive module, then the motor slows or speeds up, perhaps applying torque gearing so that there’s no energy wastage. Variable speed drives (VSDs) are rolling out now, followed by IE3 and IE4 (International Efficiency standards) motors, built from the ground up to be energy savers.

Next, advancements in starter circuitry and load measuring sensors have progressed to the point where industrial motors can start smoothly under varying load conditions, avoiding the energy spikes that occur with traditional direct-on-line starters. For example, picture the old contactor-based Star-to-Delta method being phased out, replaced by torque-monitored starters that are purely solid state in design. No sparks, no thermal spikes caused by poorly cleaned magnetic contacts, low maintenance electronic starters just work. Beyond that, the list of potential motor decarbonization strategies goes on and on, offering solutions that fill entire handbooks.

With that in mind, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) manual has been offered as reference. The multi-page PDF starts with the basics, offering insights into induction motor and permanent magnet motor design, before taking off for sights unseen with premium grade alloy laminations and positional rotor sensors. It then proceeds to take apart the conventional motor power transmission train, looking for suspect spots where energy wastage can be eliminated. Couplings are in this chain, as are endpoint equipment assemblies.

Buckling down on motor technology solutions

If industrial decarbonization is to succeed, high-efficiency strategies need to start at the power station and ripple all the way down to the electric motors. For starters, power factor correction eliminates voltage imbalances as caused by inductance and capacitance errors, accounting for both cable and winding imperfections. Power harmonics are next, with modern filtering smoothing distorted waveforms.

The design criteria slips down the power chain, encountering starters for high-wattage three-phase induction motors next. Electronic starters solve contactor losses, then it’s time to deal with the motors themselves. As mentioned earlier, IE3 and IE4 technology already exists, and IE5 is available too. Expect these to be more expensive for the moment, their higher grade steel alloys and superior magnetic field topologies driving losses lower than previously thought possible.

Engineering motors for a low-carbon future

In writing this article, the problem wasn’t a scarcity of information. On the contrary, every motor design company and environmental agency has documents and handbooks filled with ideas. Motor oversizing is one of the more obvious culprits, then there’s poorly scheduled maintenance programs and neglected load profiling, both of which allow motors to run inefficiently for hours or even days on end. As for advancements in motor technology, researchers are incorporating all of the above and more.

Let’s finish inside the motor itself. Plants and factories are gaining efficiency through high-tech innovations. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) use rare-earth magnets to cut rotor losses and boost torque efficiency, while Synchronous Reluctance Motors (SynRMs) achieve high performance without magnets by optimizing rotor geometry. Advanced laminated core materials reduce eddy current and hysteresis losses, and integrated smart electronics with IoT sensors allow motors to adjust torque, speed, and voltage in real time.

There’s a lot to mull over there, all of it positive and most of it already up and running. As the biggest contributors to industrial waste energy around, high-efficiency motors will make a substantial difference, helping factories shed their image as power guzzlers by using these technologies as practical decarbonization solutions.