Toward an energy self-sufficient paint shop

Abstract: As manufacturing is creating welfare and prosperity, it is important for humankind. Nevertheless, manufacturing is causing the depletion of natural resources, environmental burdens affecting the health of animals, humans and eco-systems, and social conflicts. Thus, it is essential to implement sustainability into manufacturing. Paint shops are however known for being liable for a big part of the large energy consumptions within manufacturing. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate what cost-effective solutions can be implemented in paint shops in order to reduce the energy consumption in a sustainable manner. Hence, the aim of this study was to, from a manufacturing perspective identify possible cost-effective solutions for lowering energy consumption within paint shops. The aim was further divided into two research questions: • RQ1: What are the enablers for energy efficient paint shops? • RQ2: What are the challenges for energy efficient paint shops? The research approach used to answer the aim and research questions were a literature review and a case study. The literature review was performed to get a deeper understanding of the subject and was then complimented with the findings from the case study. The case study was performed at the paint shop of a global automotive manufacturing company in Sweden, which currently have a high energy consumption. The enablers identified were (1) implementation of solar photovoltaic, and an energy storage system, which enables an environmentally friendly way of generating energy on-site and store excess energy for later use. The energy storage system can also be used to save money by utilizing the fluctuating electricity market prices, charging the battery when the energy price is at its lowest. (2) Implementation of an UV-curing system and paint, which is an environmentally harmless method of curing paint. (3) Reducing or disabling the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system of a building when it is not a necessity. (4) Workers commitment and motivation towards sustainability, to ensure everyone’s participation. The challenges identified were (1) the expensiveness of sustainability, allocating and prioritizing it in budgets is challenging for a company since profitability is always a major concern that often overshadows sustainability. (2) The risk of modifying the processes within the paint shop, as the consequences are unexplored. (3) In its current state, the energy consumption of the paint shop is very high, it is hence difficult to provide the whole paint shop with solely solar photovoltaic. (4) An energy storage system requires space and freeing up that space is a challenge without reconstructing existing facilities. (5) With implementation of UV- curing, the paint used must be curable with UV-light. Additionally, complex three-dimensional shapes make it challenging to properly cure evenly with UV-curing. (6) It is not guaranteed whether it is possible to completely shut down heating, ventilation and air conditioning since industrial equipment in general is designed to always run. (7) Sustainability is not a focus and even if it is increasingly requested by society, the commitment of companies is experienced as low. It is challenging to motivate all the employees to work towards sustainability and find ways to always keep sustainability in mind and to prioritize it over other alternatives.