The mechanical and plant engineering industry wants to produce in a climate-neutral way in the future. This ambition is supported by the European Union's European Green Deal, which envisages a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. In order to achieve this goal, precise energy consumption data in production, among other things, is of crucial importance. For this reason, ODVA, OPC Foundation, PI (Profibus & Profinet International) and VDMA have formed a consortium, which VDMA has assumed the chairmanship of.

A specification for interoperable and efficient energy management in industrial automation and process automation has now been published as the first publication. Dietmar Bohn, Managing Director of the PNO (Profibus User Organization), explains: "The recording and analysis of energy consumption in machines and systems is an immensely important topic for the future. We are pleased to make an active contribution to this important initiative to optimize energy consumption and thereby reduce the harmful effects on the environment caused by waste and excess."

Standardized information model based on OPC UA

This specification defines a standardized information model based on OPC UA that enables comprehensive energy management in industrial automation. "This Power Consumption Management collaboration ensures that end users have a highly standardized and interoperable means to achieve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals," explains Dr. Al Beydoun, President and CEO of ODVA.

The introduction of this standard should make energy management in industry considerably easier. According to the consortium, companies will be able to record, analyze and use precise and consistent energy data. This not only helps to reduce operating costs, but also to reduce the ecological footprint. Standardization makes it possible to implement technologies and best practices faster and more effectively, which contributes to more sustainable and environmentally friendly production in the long term.

The core contents of the new specification

The specification essentially comprises two main content fields:

• Monitoring: The display of all types of energy consumption, including electrical energy as well as energy from air, water or coal.
• Standby management: This refers to the control and display of various energy-saving modes on machines and components.

The specification is based on the results of the research project "Development of energy management interfaces for IoT technologies (IoTEnRG)". "The aim of the IoTEnRG research project was to make the results available to the industry. We were able to contribute our results directly to the Joint Working Group and thus significantly accelerate the development of the OPC UA Companion Specification," says Prof. Dr. Niemann from the Institute for Sensor Technology and Automation at Hanover University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

"For digitalization, we need an agreement on a common understanding and description of data, including in the energy sector. OPC UA delivers exactly that. I am proud that we can also make a contribution to the energy transition with this joint group and thus promote optimized energy savings through standardized and efficient monitoring," says Stefan Hoppe, President of the OPC Foundation.

New function module for energy management for the 'OPC UA for Machinery' standard

The VDMA has defined a basic standard for the entire machinery and plant engineering sector, known as 'OPC UA for Machinery'. Various function blocks are specified in this standard. A new module for energy management is being developed on the basis of this publication. "The four organizations have been working hard to harmonize and standardize information on energy consumption in manufacturing. This is an excellent first step towards defining an upcoming OPC UA building block for mechanical engineering, which will bring the mechanical and plant engineering industry a big step closer to the goal of climate-neutral production," says Andreas Faath, Head of the VDMA Machine Information Interoperability department.