Slovenian Smart Factory manages Electricity Consumption with LoRaWAN

Salonit Anhovo leverages Actility's partner Solvera Lynx's energy monitoring sensors and management system

The good thing is that we now have a good picture of energy consumption which is shared throughout the organization. We plan to reduce our energy consumption in the long run.

Magda Gabrijelcic , Energy Manager

Created 90 years ago
Oldest and biggest cement factory in Slovenia

3.180 tons of clinckers
Daily production capacity

9 Million euros
Yearly energy bill (mostly electricity)

End customer

Salonit Anhovo

CUSTOMER CHALLENGE

Join the top 10 % most energy-efficient cement factories in Europe

Salonit Anhovo is the biggest cement production factory in Slovenia. Founded some 90 years ago in the central valley of Soča, the factory has been an innovation driver for the region ever since. In the past ten years, the factory invested massively in its production line.

Salonit also has a strong environmental regulation compliance strategy and it is dedicated to optimizing and reducing energy consumption. The goal was to reach the top 10 % most energy-efficient cement factories in the European Union. “We already use around 60 % alternative fuels and our CO2 emission factor is below benchmark factor”, explains Magda Gabrijelcic, Energy Manager at Salonit Anhovo.

But producing clinker is energy-intensive: its electricity consumption averages 85 GWh, with 2500 Tera Joules of energy used for clinker burning. In the past years, Salonit’s energy bills went up to 9 million EUR per year, mainly for electricity.

“Our company wanted to understand into details the energy flow through the company and we were looking for a system to handle energy consumption data automatically.”

Salonit needed to comply with European energy regulation. The company could leverage a co-financing mechanism to invest in equipment and monitoring solutions that help meet the energy consumption reduction target.

SOLUTION

Focus on energy savings, not on cabling

Salonit Anhovo We chose a wireless technology over wired technology to simplify the roll-out of an energy management system (EMS). LoRaWAN was the obvious choice with its long range capabilities. The Salonit site stretches over 3 km in a valley, meaning that connecting all energy meters via a wired system is a huge hassle.

“Using LoraWAN devices from Solvera Lynx allowed us to focus on the energy-saving potential of the project instead of the cabling”, confirms Magda Gabrijelcic.

Salonit chose to implement Combox.L CI-B series of sensors for their long battery lifetime, but also because they are suitable for the harsh industrial environment.

Before they implemented the EMS, some data were collected via a legacy SCADA system. A “walk-around” team manually registered monthly consumption of energy. Data was mostly used for monthly consumption reports and billing of their internal services.

BENEFITS

A detailed view of energy metrics to reduce consumption in the long run

Salonit Anhovo All energy data is now automatically collected via the Gemalogic EMS from Solvera Lynx. Energy management data is coupled with production data and stored in an online database.

Madga and her teams have created specific alarms on energy consumption and specific KPIs which link production data with energy consumption. Special analyses are also prepared such as M&T pairs for in-depth analysis of energy consumption. The EMS also automatically prepares energy usage reports, which are shared throughout the organization. Special reports are prepared and shared with Salonit’s top management.

“After 16 months of good operations, we are highly satisfied with our choice”, says the Energy Manager.

After using the LoRaWAN-based EMS for almost a year now, Salonit is now able to monitor its energy efficiency performance. Magda Gabrijelcic explains the factory’s production is strictly linked to the market situation and energy consumption varies with the type of products they are manufacturing and how well they are doing with energy efficiency.

“The good thing is that we now have a good picture of energy consumption which is shared throughout the organization. We plan to reduce our energy consumption in the long run.”

Salonit plans to introduce some more reports and alarms and we are also bringing additional measurement points into the system. Magda Gabrijelcic concludes that ” the solution we have created fits our organization. Combox.L CI devices with LoRaWAN and Gemalogic as energy management system work for us.”

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