Greening the auto and manufacturing industries

As a pioneer of the modern assembly line, the automotive industry has a long history of innovating the manufacturing process. Today, the industry is tackling one of humanity’s biggest challenges by focusing on sustainability and decarbonising the value chain. Both the manufacturing process and the automotive products are shifting to green models with almost 100% of all new vehicle sales in the largest markets predicted to be electric vehicles by 2035.¹

The manufacturing sector as a whole is learning from these successes. The adoption of digital twins, use of autonomous robotics and deployment of 5G is pushing more manufacturers closer to sustainability, even in some of the hardest to decarbonise sectors such as steel and concrete. 

The automotive sector is emerging as a leader in the race to zero emissions, with manufacturing in the EU dropping by 45% in 15 years.²

Taking an innovation-first approach and layering technologies has proved successful for the automotive manufacturing industry. Digital twins, autonomous robots and 5G are key elements in this shift. 

Digital twins enable manufacturers to virtualise the factory floor and run processes without using the energy associated with running them in physical environments. Once processes and products are tested in these virtual environments, only the most efficient methods are deployed to the factory floor. 

Unlike a step-by-step decarbonisation process like improving machine efficiency, digital twins eliminate energy usage from day one and reduce the ongoing environmental impact of testing and deployment in physical environments. Digital twins also remove the need for engineers and site managers to visit multiple physical locations, in turn removing the carbon from their journeys.

Auto manufacturers also realise that autonomous robots are packed with energy efficiency opportunities. Energy monitoring sensors can be added to the robot or power source to highlight where the most power-hungry steps appear in the process.³ From there, installing a variable speed drive (VSD) to match robot speed to production speed means manufacturers can use only the energy needed for the task.⁴

Since 5G is sustainable by design, when these digital manufacturing ecosystems are 5G enabled, they reduce the energy use associated with older networks and enable the massive machine-type communications (MMC) that bring efficiency to the factory floor. 5G uses 58% less energy than 4G which also helps manufacturers to manage their Scope 2 and 3 emissions.

The factory floor of the near future will see a symphony of people and autonomous machines working together. While machines can be replaced, the human risk of harm must be at absolute zero and 5G is making that a reality.

The Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Singapore (HMGICS) uses 5G to enable a meta-factory - a test environment that enables managers to run processes without having to visit the plant. Removing these additional people from the factory floor reduces the risk associated with added activity in the space. 

The HMGICS is also leveraging 5G for a cloud-based, centralized mobile robot management solution. This is paving the way for a future where robots conduct the most dangerous tasks in spaces well away from where humans are working.

The benefits to wider industries are clear. One study has found that the presence of industrial robots reduces the rate of injury. When robot presence was increased to 1.34 robots per 1000 workers, the rate of injury fell by 1.2 injuries per 100 full-time workers.⁵

The HMGICS is more than just a factory. The multi-purpose facility includes a smart farm that showcases the vertical growing technologies that will enable Singapore to create more home-grown produce, in turn building greater food security. 

The farm incorporates the same technologies that make it a pioneering manufacturing facility to demonstrate the multi-purpose use of robotics, IIoT and 5G. 

Robotics and automation are used to grow produce in a controlled environment free of pests and diseases, and a nearby education centre shows visitors the sustainable benefits of tech-based food production.

Pioneering manufacturing company BYD is also thinking beyond the traditional auto plant and envisioning a future where vehicle components have several lives after their initial purchase. Their new generation blade battery becomes an energy storage system once it comes to the end of its EV lifecycle.⁶ By building-in circularity, this removes the need for further battery manufacturing in subsequent use cases, in turn entirely removing the associated carbon costs of producing a new battery. 

In Singapore, Vehicle to Grid (V2G) trials are paving the way for EVs to be a critical part of the energy system and these technologies will help manage the projected 6.5% annual growth rate of peak electricity demand.⁷

The automotive and manufacturing sectors are building a world where human-centred design builds growth, product lifecycles are long, and circularity is a reality. Manufacturers beyond automotive can learn from this innovation to build a sustainable future for even the hardest-to-abate products. 

Partnering with an experienced leader in tech-driven sustainability will get us closer to a greener, more equitable world.

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