ABB has set a new world record for energy efficiency in large (greater than 3 MW) synchronous electric motors, defined as the ratio between the electricity drawn and the motion generated (multiplied by 100). It achieved a 99.13% efficiency rating with a custom-designed motor for an undisclosed steel plant in India.  

The motor, part of ABB’s efforts to improve the performance and energy use of large-scale industrial equipment, surpassed the company’s own previous record of 99.05% set in 2017.

Large synchronous motors typically operate at efficiencies between 98.2% and 98.5%. By comparison, the 99.13% result represents a meaningful gain – particularly for applications running continuously at high loads for long periods, such as in steel production.

The motor will drive an air separation unit, a key part of the steelmaking process where gases like oxygen and nitrogen are extracted from atmospheric air. Replacing a standard 98.64% efficient motor with this design is expected to save around 61 GWh of electricity and $5.9mn in power costs over 25 years. It will also help avoid approximately 45,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.  

India’s coal-heavy steel expansion threatens global decarbonisation goals

This motor efficiency milestone arrives at a pivotal moment. India’s steelmaking industry has some of the biggest aspirations in the world but is facing mounting pressure to adopt cleaner technologies and curb emissions in one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.

According to a recent report by Global Energy Monitor, the global steel sector is on track to fall just short of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2030 target of having 38% of global capacity powered by lower-emissions electric arc furnaces (EAFs) – and a major reason for the shortfall is the slow pace of transition in India.

India currently has the world’s largest pipeline of planned steelmaking capacity – 352mn t/y, more than a third of the global total. However, most of this pipeline relies on traditional coal-based methods. Half of all new coal-based steel capacity worldwide – about 200mn t/y – is planned for India. If this trajectory continues, achieving the IEA’s global target will be difficult.

Global Energy Monitor estimates that EAF-based capacity will reach 36% of the global total, or 868mn t/y, by 2030 – just shy of the goal. While the use of EAFs has grown over the past decade, coal still dominates, particularly in India. Small wonder that the country’s steel industry is also the most carbon-intensive globally, emitting 20–25% more CO₂ per tonne of steel than China.

Although India plans to double its steelmaking capacity by 2030, only a small portion – just 28mn t/y, or 8% – of its proposed capacity has begun construction, indicating room for course correction.

‘India is now the bellwether of global steel decarbonisation,’ notes Astrid Grigsby-Schulte, Project Manager of the Global Iron and Steel Tracker at Global Energy Monitor. ‘If the country does not increase its plans for green steel production, the entire sector will miss an important milestone. So goes India, so goes the world.’

Countries like Australia and Brazil are better positioned to lead the shift to green steel, the report finds. With abundant iron ore reserves and growing renewable energy sectors, both nations are well-placed to shape the future of low-carbon ironmaking.  

But according to Global Energy Monitor, neither country has yet emerged as a leader in green ironmaking. Despite their production advantages, both lag in deploying technologies like integrated direct reduced iron, which is a cleaner alternative to blast furnaces for smelting iron.