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Ford in Europe is on course to achieve a reduction in energy usage, per vehicle produced, of 25% since 2011, following investments of £20m specifically targeting energy waste.
As a result, this year Ford says it will save about 800 gigawatt hours at its European plants – roughly the amount of energy used annually by a city with a population of 170,000, such as Oxford.
As part of the Ford Production System, a new energy management operating System is now deployed throughout Ford’s European manufacturing centres. Facilities in Cologne and Saarlouis, Germany, for example, have achieved International ISO 50001 status for their energy management and efficiency.
“Constantly finding new ways of saving natural resources is an important challenge for Ford, especially in an energy intensive industry such as car-making,” said Richard Douthwaite, manager, Energy Management, Ford of Europe.
“Recycling waste heat from factory paint ovens is just one of the creative ways we are reducing energy demand, helping us to lower the environmental impact of our manufacturing facilities around the world.”
The energy-saving measures include a system that recovers heat energy from the paint oven exhaust stacks and returns it as useful heat into the district water heating system. The system in Cologne has delivered 16 gigawatt hours since start-up in November 2013. A similar system is now operational in Ford’s Saarlouis plant and a further one is planned for its factory in Valencia, Spain.
The company is continuing its switch to low-energy LED lighting at its manufacturing facilities in Europe and it is also rolling-out the installation of an advanced automated building heating control and ventilation system at its factories. The hi-tech system allows Ford energy teams to remotely control – and even switch off – heating systems in individual offices, or areas that are not in use, within its plants.
