The inter-connected nature and flexibility of Industry 4.0 technologies can throw up opportunities to support transition to sustainable energy systems. Many more solutions can emerge to meet the challenges of integrating renewable energy sources.
The energy industry will be influenced by all Industry 4.0[1] developments with Energy 4.0[2] in turn influencing Industry 4.0. The energy sector is going through a grand transition requiring integration of renewable energies into innovative sustainable systems, end-use fuel switches, coming of electric mobility solutions with its potential for grid management and individual ownership giving way to shared assets and services.
Digital technologies in the past decade have permeated manufacturing processes in virtually all industries across the world. There has been unprecedented proliferation of robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, big data analytics, Internet of Things, blockchain and rapid prototyping technologies.
The fourth industrial revolution (or Industry 4.0) has gained considerable momentum and will fundamentally transform human lives in years to come. This will galvanise development of new business models, services and behaviours. Many industry leaders believe that digital transformation of industries and transition towards more sustainable energy systems will mutually benefit from each other.
The inter-connectedness and flexibility of Industry 4.0 technologies can throw up opportunities to support transition to sustainable energy systems. Many more solutions can emerge to meet the challenges of integrating renewable energy sources. Emergence of small and large integrated power grids will require new approaches to grid management.
India plans to deploy unprecedented levels of renewable energy (RE) – 175 GW installed capacity of renewable energy by 2022, up from 60 GW now.
The potential of information and communication technologies could also be harnessed to monitor and efficiently manage the generation, delivery and consumption of electricity from different sources to meet the varying demands of end-users. Such grids could provide the flexibility necessary to integrate renewable energies like wind and solar into electricity networks on a large scale.
This calls for creating a flexible, smart network of generators for both conventional and renewable energy, energy storage solutions and decentralised generation. As sector boundaries get blurred, entities across the entire value chain both in Renewable energy and conventional energy space – be it coal, oil, gas and hydro – will need to respond through innovations, collaborations and new business models. They must be agile, mitigate risks and capture new opportunities.
At the same time, Energy 4.0 will need to address issues of future market designs, balance relationships among market partners, and evolve policy and regulatory regimes to keep pace with digital technology advancements.
[1]Industry 4.0 is a buzzword used for fourth industrial revolution currently taking place by cyber physical system, new technologies and innovation.
[2]Energy 4.0 represents the current phase of physical and commercial energy world.
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About Rakesh Nath
Rakesh Nath is former Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority and is currently an Advisor at World Energy Council India. With over 40 years of experience in the Power sector, Nath has also been ex-officio Member of CERC and Part Time Director of Nuclear Power Corporation.
Source: energy.economictimes.indiatimes
