Microgrids, electric vehicle fleets on the horizon for manufacturers

If you’re reading about “smart energy” solutions in the news lately, it’s probably because we just lived through the hottest month on record, creating mass demand for household electric cooling systems.

But the intelligent technologies that comprise smart energy—like intelligent home energy insights and usage monitoring systems—are also being implemented at an industrial level, where companies are being pushed (by consumers and policy) to reduce their supply chains’ carbon footprint.

A recent survey conducted by global intelligence firm ABI Research, which queried 114 manufacturing companies, found that the manufacturing industry is struggling not only with the cost of energy (which 42% of companies reported as their top challenge) but also with interactions with energy utility providers for things like billing, reliability, and purchasing.

Manufacturers also report regulatory and legislative challenges, limited availability of renewable energy, and a lack of relevant knowledge and expertise, which 45% of responding companies ranked as their second biggest challenge.

Despite those barriers, manufacturers say they’re already implementing certain smart energy solutions or they’re in the works.

Energy storage and backup solutions such as battery farms and flywheels (rotating wheels that store kinetic energy) are the most commonly implemented smart technologies; 63% of manufacturers say they’ve already implemented some type of storage or backup solution, and 29% have plans to do so.

Energy efficiency management software and vehicle fleet electrification are also widely implemented. Among the manufacturers surveyed, 81% said they're already using or plan to use some type of energy software, for example to monitor or control factory energy usage, and 77% have already started to electrify their vehicle fleets or plan to in the near future.

Meanwhile, solutions like clean energy microgrids—which could allow manufacturers to generate their own energy from sources like solar or wind—are among the least popular smart energy solutions. Just one in four respondents said they currently implement microgrids (though 34% said they have plans to do so in the near future.)