ABB enclosure plant built with CO2 reduction in mind

ABB has opened a €20m injection molding manufacturing site at Evergem, near Ghent in Belgium, replacing an existing facility acquired with GE Industrial Solutions in 2018.

The site will produce residential, commercial and industrial power distribution enclosures for circuit breakers, fuses, switches and meters.

Evergem is part of ABB’s initiative towards reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, according to the company, which said: “The initiative is expected to reduce CO₂-equivalent emissions by more than 6,700 tonnes, and energy consumption by more than 9.4GWh, annually compared to 2019 at the previous facility.”

~€2.5m savings in energy cost reductions are expected annually, partly though 1,330 solar panels on the roof of the building which will produce ~10% of its energy needs, it added.

Injection moulding machines, LED lighting, electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps, cooling water circuits and the air ventilation plant were all picked for energy efficiency, and “the Evergem site will continuously monitor and optimise energy usage, leveraging ABB’s own digital solutions which track buildings data and utilities in real-time”, said ABB.