What do we talk about when we talk about energy management? “It is a very broad subject, while in short, it refers to any kind of management relating to energy use, be it in households or in industry, where the aim is energy and cost efficiency,” said Evald Kranjčevič, Head of Sales for Energy and Environmental Solutions at Slovenia’s Petrol, answering the introductory question of Energetika.NET’s recent video debate on the subject. According to Kranjčevič, energy management is continually changing and developing, in recent times also due to digitalisation. As noted by Danijel Muršič, the CEO of Slovenia’s Menerga, a company specialising in energy consumption in buildings, it is also important to include energy reuse and the use of renewable sources, adding that the energy management of input and output mediums, both for heating and for cooling, can lead to major savings. – The debate also features insights from other prominent Slovenian energy managers: SIJ Group’s Samo Lečnik, Talum’s Boštjan Korošec, and Štore Steel’s Bojan Senčič, all of whom presented the most recent energy projects in their industries. The video is available here (in Slovenian only)!

What do we talk about when we talk about energy management and why is it good to have projects that are ready to go?

Energy management requires systematic governance and needs to be supported by the management, explained Samo Lečnik, Head of the Energy Department at the Slovenian Steel (SIJ) Group. The expert therefore always aims to produce measurements which demonstrate the impact of individual energy efficiency measures – be it investment-related or organisational, noting that even organisational measures on their own can bring significant savings. The SIJ Group strives to develop a wide range of energy projects, from solar to hydrogen, which, in principle, cold apply for a grant as soon as this is possible.

Meanwhile, Head of Energy Management at Talum, Boštjan Korošec, sees energy management as encompassing everything from the purchase, distribution, measurement, charging, and finally to the use of energy and its infrastructure, which energy-intensive companies have been considering all along. He noted that one of the ways to implement it is to follow the ISO 50001 standard, although it can be quite challenging to transfer the economic thinking from one’s home to their workplace.

At Talum, most of the energy efficiency projects planned for the near future relate to the modernisation of the production of compressed air and the use of excess heat, which is present in metallurgical processes, while also being dispersed at different temperature levels, meaning that the investments aiming at an economic return take a bit longer. The company already has some projects prepared for a time when it will be able to apply for grants.

Similarly, talking about Štore Steel’s prepared projects, Bojan Senčič mentioned a project aimed at utilising excess heat, and added that the company recently replaced all the lighting in its production halls. He added that such projects have a favourable effect on the company’s balance sheet, as the savings resulting from the light replacement amounted to 2.6 GWh. The company now plans to replace the lighting in the offices as well, which will lead to additional 0.5 GWh in savings. It already achieved annual savings of about 7 GWh by lowering the melt level during tapping and replaced the lining of the heating furnace, additionally saving about 6 GWh per year. The company also replaced the heating places for the ladles, achieving 5 GWh of annual energy savings. With the planned use of excess heat, it is counting on additional savings of 10 GWh per year.

Every measure must have an impact; an energy audit is the first step

The returns on energy efficiency investments might differ significantly, but they always need to pay off, either with a return on investment, favourable environmental impacts or impacts that benefit local communities, said Kranjčevič. Muršič added that in terms of energy efficiency in buildings, for every kW of saved connected power, about EUR 40,000 less is needed in terms of investment from the budget to provide this power. Investments therefore quickly pay off, he stressed.

Some parts of industry still hold significant energy efficiency potential. The SIJ Group, for instance, carried out a project at the SIJ Metal Ravne steel plant using the excess heat from the plant to heat the town of Ravne. As noted by Lečnik, the project has been running for 4 years and during this time, approximately 36,000 MWh of thermal energy has been utilised, covering about 40% of the needs of Ravne na Koroškem, while representing no more than 2% of the primary energy used by SIJ Metal Ravne annually. Lečnik therefore sees great potential in using excess heat, adding that the SIJ Group also joined the Etekina project with which it will focus on the continual use of excess heat from the steel heating furnaces.

Meanwhile, Talum’s measures in the last 10 years included replacing its compressors, which reduced electricity consumption by about 25%, and a comprehensive modernisation of the heating system, which cut the consumption of the primary energy product by more than 40%. The company also replaced all the gas burners on the casting and melting furnaces with regenerative ones, leading to a 20% decrease in gas consumption, and reduced groundwater extraction by 85% by shutting down the related cooling systems. It also modernised most of its lighting, both external and internal, which yielded 75% savings, and produces 40% of all the thermal energy is by recovering excess heat, explained Korošec, adding that the thermal energy is used only to heat offices and production spaces in the winter season, meaning that in this case, the investment payback period doubles.

In the last decade, electrolysis, Talum’s greatest energy consumer, has gone from using 14,300 kWh to 13,200 kWh per tonne of primary aluminium. The annual capacity is about 84,000 tonnes. The company has therefore done a lot to cut energy consumption and is not left with a lot of manoeuvring space in this regard, as it has already come close to the theoretical limits of primary aluminium production, noted its representative.

An energy audit is the first step towards energy efficiency, however, each project should be handled on an individual basis, as energy management can quickly turn into a complex matter, said Kranjčevič. Meanwhile, Muršič noted that in buildings, the problem is often the ventilation, adding that regenerative heat exchangers can help in the short term, whereas a more long term measure would be to renovate the building envelope and to switch to a low-temperature heating regime, with shallow geothermal energy presenting a ‘serious energy product’ in this regard, which can be used both in winter and in summer.

Future will bring stronger ties between industry and local inhabitants

According to Muršič, the combination of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources, especially shallow geothermal energy, is the right direction to take in terms of achieving the EU’s carbon neutrality target by 2050. Meanwhile, Lečnik believes that the tie between energy intensive industry and the urban environment will become even stronger by mid-century – especially with the development of energy communities, which the company will also work towards as part of the European CREATORS project.

With regard to the SIJ Group’s battery storage system, installed by its partner NGEN in Jesenice, Slovenia, Lečnik noted that the company hopes that this will allow them to better predict electricity off-take. Korošec has a similar view in relation to the battery storage system installed at the Talum location, which he says could balance the company’s driving schedule and help supply critical consumers at Talum in case of emergencies. The company is already discussing increasing the system’s capacity.

While debating on future developments, Lečnik pointed to some interesting facts on aluminium – Europe uses 8 million tonnes of aluminium per year, while producing only 4 million tonnes. Globally, about 62 million tonnes are used annually, whereas by 2050, its use is expected to reach 110 million tonnes. Due to the growing need for aluminium, the production of primary aluminium will have to be increased, along with its recycling. Despite the company’s awareness of the importance of a circular economy and of increasing aluminium recycling, the latter will not be enough to meet the growing need for aluminium on its own. Incidentally, as much as 75% of the aluminium produced so far is still in use. Due to its strategic importance, the EU adopted certain measures to safeguard its aluminium industry, which it wishes to preserve also as part of the European Green Deal, which has been adopted as the European Commission’s development strategy for 2050.

And how will energy management look mid-century when the EU is expected to become carbon neutral? The debate participants agreed that energy management is a given – the systems are becoming increasingly connected and energy managers will have to be increasingly competent, as “we will all be part of one big community which will have to operate synchronously”.

Watch the whole video interview HERE (in Slovenian only)!