IMPACT OF DIGITALIZATION ON ELECTRICAL MOTOR SYSTEMS : From an energy efficiency perspective

Abstract: This master thesis is written in collaboration with the Swedish Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency (Electric Motor System Annex, EMSA) to investigate the potential of using digitalization as a tool to become more energy efficient with regards to electrical motor systems in the Swedish industry. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the potential of energy efficiency, market maturity, opportunities, barriers, and risks related to digitalization applied to electrical motors in Swedish industry. Another aim was to identify what kind of support the industry wishes for, from the Swedish Energy Agency or the Government. This is performed by interviewing 12 companies, where six companies are producers of digital solutions, and six companies are users of digital solutions. The interviews were thereafter transcribed and thematically analyzed. Moreover, an online survey was used to gather data that can implicate trends in the industry, where 30 industries within production answered our online survey. Analysis of the collected data from the interviews and the survey showed that the potential to increase energy efficiency by using digitalization on electrical motor systems turned out to be high, depending on the initial system specifications and the usage of digital technologies, such as data analysis. The market maturity seemed to be low regarding an automated industry, i.e., industry 4.0, but relatively high when looking into digitalization as a whole. The majority of companies seem to have a strategy to become more digitalized in the future. Several opportunities could be identified, where energy efficiency, flexible production, and predictive maintenance were the most vital ones. Moreover, barriers such as expert knowledge, organizational structures, and lack of standards were acknowledged. The major risk seen from the industry perspective is cybersecurity, along with over-dimensioned motors, loss of data, loss of connection, and loss of jobs. The rebound effect is identified as a possible risk for the industry in the literature. However, from the interviews, it was not considered as a major risk for the Swedish industry today, but rather in the future. Suggestions for future governmental support included regulations from several aspects, implementation of standards within the Internet of Things (IoT), education, and further research.