In recent decades, Italian industry has significantly increased its investments in solutions to reduce energy consumption, both to remain competitive on international markets and to comply with regulatory requirements that consider reducing consumption a key factor in promoting the decarbonization of the industrial sector. The results achieved with these applications are often significant, but there is still great scope for improving energy performance, which can be exploited by introducing new innovative technologies.
The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan 2020 is Italy’s strategy for achieving the European energy and climate targets for 2030 and has set clear energy efficiency targets for the industrial sector. The plan envisages a reduction in national consumption of 50.98 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent) in the period 2021-2030, which corresponds to an annual saving of around 9.25 Mtoe by 2030. The industrial sector has been assigned a reduction target of around 1.0 Mtoe per year, which shows that there is still plenty of room for improvement. This target can be achieved by using the best available technologies while contributing to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.
In essence, energy efficiency in industry does not differ much from other sectors: it consists of using less energy to achieve the same result, eliminating inefficiencies, reducing environmental impact and lowering energy costs.
Energy efficiency investments can be classified into three main categories. The first concerns hardware solutions, such as combined heat and power plants and heat pumps, which reduce energy consumption. The second category includes software solutions, which monitor and manage machinery performance through sensors, MES (Manufacturing Execution System), and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), enabling production system optimisation and energy savings. Finally, there are the solutions that offer flexibility to the network, improving overall system efficiency.
In 2020, investments in the Italian industrial sector for energy efficiency reached almost EUR 2.1 billion, as reported in the Digital Energy Efficiency Report 2021 by the Energy & Strategy Group of the Politecnico di Milano. Of these investments, more than 90 per cent went to hardware technologies, while only about 8 per cent was spent on software technologies dedicated to controlling and monitoring the performance of production cycles. These figures show that, although the sector has already made significant progress, there are still many opportunities to be seized, especially in the adoption of digital solutions that can increase theenergy efficiency and sustainability of industries. As far as this type of investment is concerned, intelligent energy management software offers an important opportunity due to the possibility of large-scale implementation in a short time and at low cost. This allows companies to translate their sustainability ambitions into concrete results, requiring minimal investment.
In this context, MAPS Energy proposes Digital Energy Manager, the digital solution for consumption control and optimisation of electricity and heat generation plants serving production, designed to increase the energy efficiency of companies and improve resource management.
Through real-time monitoring of energy consumption and the parameters that characterise the activities performed, Digital Energy Manager analyses inefficiencies and identifies savings opportunities for both general and production, auxiliary and generation utilities. This allows targeted intervention to optimise the use of resources, minimising waste.
Another key functionality is the control of energy costs, made possible by the use of so-called ‘virtual bills’. The system enables a detailed analysis of electricity and gas expenses, calculated on the basis of contracts and actual prices in use. This gives a clear and precise picture of costs, facilitating the planning and management of the company’s energy budget.
To monitor operational efficiency in real time, the software includes a centralised Control Room, capable of automatically detecting any malfunctions or anomalies with respect to baseline energy consumption. Thanks to this function, companies can intervene promptly to correct critical issues, thus minimising efficiency losses and additional costs.
A further advantage of the platform lies in its ability to optimise the use of generation facilities, ensuring that energy needs are met at the lowest possible cost, both in terms of primary energy (TOE) and economic costs. This results in optimal resource management, with a positive impact on both operational efficiency and budgets.
Digital Energy Manager also providesin-depth analyses of the actual performance of machinery, compared with theoretical operating values. This allows any deviations in performance to be identified and corrected, improving the overall efficiency of plants and production processes.
Finally, sustainability is also at the heart of the solution. Digital Energy Manager is able to calculate the company’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) parameters , monitoring progress towards sustainability goals. The software supports integration with leading sustainability reporting portals, simplifying the path to more responsible and environmentally compliant management.
Digital Energy Manager offers a comprehensive approach to corporate energy management, combining efficiency, cost control and sustainability. This makes it an indispensable tool for all companies wishing to optimise their energy resources and strengthen their commitment to more sustainable production.
