Towards Energy Efficiency
Published on : Thursday 02-02-2023
The recently concluded IMTEX 2023 exhibition – the flagship event of India’s machine tool industry – provided a glimpse into the growing adoption of digital technologies in the manufacturing sector.
With close to a 1000 exhibitors and a visitor footfall of 96,000 plus over 7 days of the show, IMTEX made a triumphant return with the metal cutting technologies edition after the Covid induced gap of 4 years, bringing together the stalwarts of the machine tool and manufacturing industries on a common platform. On display were a wide range of smart and intelligent machines, conventional and special-purpose machines, also hybrid machines combining 3D metal printing facilities, all IIoT enabled to fit in the smart manufacturing ecosystem. But more than the machines and technologies on display, it was the confidence and positive attitude visible across the halls, in booth after booth, the spirit gung ho about the present spate of policy initiatives boosting the manufacturing sector.
This sustained increase in economic activity also means that India's power consumption is registering double-digit growth as evident from the electricity consumption of the last few months. According to the World Energy Outlook report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in October 2022, India is likely to see the world's biggest rise in energy demand this decade, with demand climbing 3 per cent annually due to urbanisation and industrialisation. While the share of renewable energy sources is rising, the sheer volume of demand also means that the dependence on fossil fuels is also increasing in real terms even as it reduces proportionately. It is not just India which is facing the energy crisis – it is a global phenomenon, exacerbated by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The Cover Story of this edition, Automation in Power Generation & Distribution, discusses the issues and possible solutions.
