Smart energy according to ABB and to Shanghai Electric

What does ‘smart energy’ mean? We could give you several examples, among the many meanings of the (overused) adjective ‘smart’. Here we will consider a couple of significant examples. Let’s start with ABB.

Smart energy. Looking at ABB

“ABB has been granted membership into the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (ECH2A), the official EU body focused on an ambitious deployment of hydrogen (H2) technologies by 2030, as a means to reduce carbon emissions and help achieve European carbon neutrality by 2050. Peter Terwiesch will be ABB’s executive sponsor in the Alliance and will be actively working with governments and other Alliance members to scale up the hydrogen value chain across Europe. The use of hydrogen has been identified as crucial to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal and Europe’s clean energy transition. It has several uses, from storing renewable energy to fueling heavy transport, and as energy and feedstock in energy-intensive industry, such as in the steel or chemical sectors. «Europe’s opportunity to reduce carbon emissions by scaling up the production, transport and use of hydrogen is significant. Automation, electrification and digitalization will play an important role in unlocking this potential. At ABB we are proud to be joining the ECH2A, to continue our collaborations with governments, industries, regulators and academia to further accelerate the implementation of hydrogen,» said Peter Terwiesch, President of ABB Industrial Automation. «We have a unique mix of relevant domain expertise and solutions to support industry and make a real difference in deploying new clean hydrogen technologies».”

Smart in the Shanghai Electric vocabulary

“Shanghai Electric, the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of electric power generation equipment, industrial equipment and integration services, has been granted an upgrade to BB for its MSCI ESG Rating, as the Company has been putting efforts in advancing its new energy solutions and labor management. Shanghai Electric is focusing on developing its strategy of ESG, which refers to the environmental, social and corporate governance factors in measuring a company’s sustainability and societal impact on investment. Last year, the Company established an ESG management committee, prioritizing ESG measures among its overall strategy and including the committee in its corporate governance structure. The MSCI’s move to upgrade Shanghai Electric’s ESG rating to BB reflects the Company’s long-standing value of environmental protection and its engagement in the field of renewable clean technology. Given its involvement in renewable energy as well as energy storage and smart grids, the Company is “well poised to benefit from China’s move to boost clean and lower-carbon energy as part of its efforts to cap carbon emissions by 2030,” as mentioned in MSCI’s rating report. Shanghai Electric’s interim results underscored its efforts in ESG developments. In the first half of the year, it gained a 40.75% year-on-year increase in new orders for energy equipment, integration services and industrial equipment combined. Within new energy equipment, its orders for wind power equipment increased by 505.9% year-on-year. MSCI has given a positive assessment toward Shanghai Electric’s business in clean technology. MSCI stated in the report that the Company attained opportunities to participate in clean tech markets mainly due to its involvement in advanced nuclear power generation technology; coal-fired supercritical thermal; gas turbine IGCC power generators; wind and solar power generation equipment; and smart grids, as well as wastewater treatment. «We are actively shaping and carrying out internal reforms to go digital and smart as we strive to meet the standards set by our international peers,» said Cheng Yan, Executive Director and General Manager of Shanghai Electric Digital Technology Co., Ltd. The Company’s latest achievements in digitalization include its upgraded SEunicloud platform, which won the world’s first industrial intelligence award at the 2020 World Artificial Intelligence Conference Summit earlier this year. Equipped with smart supply chain solutions designed to directly match factory production with power plant demands, the one-stop platform is established to empower smart wind power operation, remote thermal power operation, machine tool maintenance, energy storage and distribution.”