The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
ABB motors made with Boliden low-carbon and recycled copper will lower the carbon footprint of future electric mines Metal Tech News - December 14, 2022
An ABB eMine Trolley System uses electricity to assist loaded trucks up a slope, which saves fuel and lowers CO2 emissions.
Boliden's low-carbon and recycled copper will be used for ABB motors and metallurgy products in Europe.
To lower the carbon footprint of its electric motors and other products that play a major role in allowing mining and many other sectors of the global economy to then lower their carbon footprint further, ABB is building a strategic partnership with Swedish mining and smelting company Boliden for low-carbon copper.
Copper is a vital material for manufacturing the electrical equipment that is playing an increasingly important role in industrial applications that are transitioning away from fossil fuel-powered engines.
The production of copper, however, is energy intensive.
To address this, Boliden has developed low-carbon copper that is mined using fossil-free energy, as well as from recycled products. The carbon footprint of these products is 65% lower than the industry average.
For ABB, which uses a lot of copper in its motors and other electrical equipment, the partnership with Boliden will play an integral role in reducing the impact of the raw materials that go into its products.
It is estimated that Boliden's copper will save approximately 200 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions to produce the roughly 80 kilograms of copper that goes into a typical ABB 75-kilowatt motor.
An ABB motor for the electromagnetic stirring equipment used for steelmaking and other metallurgical processes has up to 2,700 kg of copper. The use of Boliden low-carbon copper saves about 6,700 kg of CO2 per stirrer.
"As a part of ABB's 2030 sustainability strategy, our target is for 80 percent of our products and solutions to be covered by a circularity approach. The work with Boliden is an important step towards this goal," said Ola Norén, head of metallurgy products, process industries at ABB.
Apart from using recycled copper, ABB has committed to increasing the use of recycled electric steel and aluminum in its products.
"We want to enable a more sustainable and resource-efficient future, and with this collaboration our customers can not only decarbonize by upgrading to energy efficient motors but will also be able to install ABB technology that has an improved environmental footprint thanks to Boliden's copper," said Ulf Hellstrom, managing director at ABB Motion, Sweden. "This is an excellent example of the circular economy in practice."
To further close the circularity loop, ABB is also designing its motors to be up to 98% recyclable, with the remaining 2% of materials available to be incinerated for heat recovery.
Recycling copper, aluminum, and steel offers energy savings of between 75 and 95% compared to virgin production.
ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company, which has been electrifying mines since delivering the first drives and controls to a mine in Sweden in 1891, brings more than 130 years of delivering electrification and digitalization to mining clients.
More information on ABB's involvement in lowering the carbon footprint of mining through electrification can be read at ABB, Perenti team up to electrify mining and ABB to optimize ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge in previous editions of Metal Tech News.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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