Determining the Product-Specific Energy Footprint in Manufacturing

In the energy transition context, the manufacturing industry moves into the spotlight, as it is responsible for significant proportions of global greenhouse gas emissions. The consequent pressure to decarbonize leads to suppliers needing to report and continuously reduce the energy consumption incurred in manufacturing supplied goods. To track the energy footprint of their products, manufacturing companies need to integrate energy data with process and planning data, enabling the tracing of the product-specific energy consumption on the shop floor level. Since manufacturing processes are prone to disturbances such as maintenance, the energy footprint of each product differs. Meanwhile, the demand for energy-efficiently produced products is increasing, supporting the development of a sustainability-focused procurement by OEMs. This paper addresses this development and outlines the technical requirements as well as how companies can identify product-specific energy consumption. Furthermore, a case study is conducted detailing how to determine the product-specific energy footprint.