AI-based data analysis can optimise resource management and energy consumption in industrial processes, reconciling production and environmental imperatives. We look at examples in the agricultural and maritime sectors with the VINCI Energies brands Actemium and Axians.
At the end of last year, the Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies H2 factory, the world’s first vertical cement plant, was awarded the CSR Factory 2023 trophy by the specialist magazine L’Usine nouvelle. The innovation developed by this modestly sized company located in the Vendée region of western France involves producing cement in a cold process requiring no heating or clinker. The associated CO2 emissions are one-fifth of those generated by conventional CEM-I cement.
This award highlights the fact that innovation and growth are perfectly compatible with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This productive decoupling is the result of technological advances in the industrial domain, which has historically been a prolific emitter of CO2.
Optimisation and energy efficiency
The first area for improvement through technology involves acting directly on energy systems. Factories often use final energies such as hot water, chilled water, steam, etc. These energies are produced using special equipment, which consumes primary or secondary energies such as gas and electricity. By optimising these energy transformation processes, it is possible to continue producing the final energies that production units need while reducing their consumption of primary and secondary energy.
Another opportunity for improvement is to make better use of production assets by making the process itself and its maintenance more efficient – to do “more with less” in terms of resources. With increased efficiency, fewer raw materials are required and less energy is used. Optimised maintenance also helps keep equipment in its most efficient state.
Data and yields
More growth with fewer resources and fewer GHGs is a matter for the entire industrial value chain. “To hit targets like these, you need a clear vision of what is really happening in the processes and better understanding of complex phenomena to be able to optimise them,” notes Damien Cantinieaux, Senior IT Applications Engineer at Actemium Belgium.
“This requires an enormous amount of data, which can be gathered automatically by sensors and stored in digital systems. Based on this data, statistical analysis and AI can be used to discover unknown correlations (due to the complexity and quantity of data, which only a computer can handle) and advise teams on optimal parameters.”
VINCI Energies, through its ICT brand Axians, carried out this optimisation work for its customer CNH Industrial, a specialist in agricultural machinery. “CNH’s objective was to coordinate the harvesting process more effectively and feed back quality and productivity data from the field to optimise yields, reduce grain wastage and facilitatecommunication between team members on-site maintenance,” says Jonathan Bral, Responsable d’Affaires at Axians Belgium.
In collaboration with the customer, Axians designed Harvest Coordination, a digital solution that simplifies coordination during harvesting (see box). “Thanks to this app, the environmental impact is greatly reduced,” says Jonathan Bral. “The improved efficiency and coordination of the agricultural machinery result in lower fuel consumption.”
Green innovation
VINCI Energies expertise is in demand on the most innovative projects.Jan De Nul, a Luxembourg company specializing in dredging solutions and offshore energy, recently launched construction of Fleeming Jenkin and its sister ship William Thomson, two extra-large cable-laying vessels capable of installing up to 900 km of cable at a time at depths of 3,000 metres. Another key feature of Fleeming Jenkin is its use of green technology for propulsion – its engines can run on biofuel or green methanol. Each vessel is also equipped with a hybrid onboard electrical installation, which helps reduce CO2 emissions and optimise fuel consumption.
“By laying cables in deeper water and more efficiently, this type of vessel will greatly facilitate the rollout of green energies (offshore wind farms) and interconnections spanning greater distances, in order to replace fossil-fuel power plants,” suggests Wim De Vrieze, Cluster Manager at Actemium Belgium.
For this large-scale project, due for delivery in 2026, VINCI Energies is drawing on the expertise of two of its business units: Actemium Services & Factory Automation, and Axians ICT for OT. Actemium is supplying the full automation solution for the cable system (motors and variators, electrical panels and automation software), while Axians is responsible for designing a computer system with virtual servers and a secure data network.
This exemplary energy transition project is bound to breed imitators, according to Jan De Nul, which was recently quoted in the Belgian newspaper De Tijd as saying: “To achieve climate targets and reach CO2 neutrality by 2050, there will have to be a massive increase in sustainable green energy production. Industry will therefore need more vessels like the ones we are building right now.”
Les superpouvoirs d’une appli
L’application mobile Harvest Coordination, coconçue par CNH Industrial et Axians, présente de nombreux atouts. Les temps d’arrêt des moissonneuses-batteuses sont évités pour une efficacité optimale. Le reporting automatique basé sur les données des capteurs fournit non seulement un aperçu détaillé des valeurs nutritionnelles du produit, mais offre également une traçabilité plus précise. L’intelligence artificielle est utilisée pour mesurer les pertes et ajuster les réglages de la moissonneuse-batteuse.
01/16/2025
