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Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship goes green in Brazil with ABB entering its eighth season as title partner
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São Paulo E-Prix offers the ideal setting to showcase ABB technology implemented in Brazil to improve productivity and efficiency, aid decarbonization and encourage a circular economy
For the second time in 2024, São Paulo’s famous Sambadrome will be filled with electrifying action when Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship goes green in the Brazilian metropolis.
As ABB enters its eighth season as title partner, and third as charging partner, the championship continues to serve as a testbed for innovative technologies which position ABB at the forefront of sustainable development - including the ABB Formula E Race Charger, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and ABB Ability Optimax® energy management solution. The electrification and automation leader’s continued partnership with Formula E also enables it to highlight solutions off-track which can improve productivity, efficiency and reliability, amplified by the appeal of the world’s first all-electric motorsport series.
Luciano Nassif, Country Holding Officer, ABB Brazil, said: “It is great to be hosting the opening round of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship here in Brazil, a country with a long and rich motorsport heritage. It is also a country in which ABB has a strong history, having implemented technological solutions which are ‘Engineered to Outrun’ for more than 110 years, collaborating on projects which enable industries to operate both leaner and cleaner.”
Specialist Brazilian steel producer, Steel Warehouse Cisa (SWC), uses ABB motors to meet the challenge of manufacturing 20,000 tons of premium-quality steel every month while optimizing efficiency and minimizing downtime. Located in Paulínia, in the interior of São Paulo, SWC processes steel coils to produce high quality sheet steel for use in applications such as agricultural machinery, construction equipment, mining, and road and rail transportation.
The SWC plant operates 35 motors from the RPMAC and VS Master families, which work under mechanical and electrical stresses beyond the operating limits of a conventional motor. All the motors are monitored with the ABB Ability Smart Sensor, which provides precise data and analysis on energy consumption, and the mechanical and electrical condition of the equipment. By using ABB’s advanced motor technology and digital monitoring solutions, Steel Warehouse Cisa has achieved exceptional efficiency and reliability.
Improving efficiencies and helping to decarbonize industries is something ABB also strives for in its own operations. At its Belo manufacturing facility in Contagem, southeast Brazil, ABB has achieved annual energy savings of 530 MWh and a reduction of 160 tons in CO2e emissions. The savings follow the implementation of sustainability initiatives including the installation of solar panels, solar water heaters, LED lamps and skylights, and frequency inverters. The facility has also deployed the ABB AbilityTM Energy Manager for metering, control, and optimization of energy consumption. The site is part of the ABB Mission to Zero™ program which supports the company’s science-based target to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions by 100% by 2050 versus a 2019 baseline.
ABB has also launched its circularity project for inverters, electric motors and generators in Brazil, an initiative that aims to maximize the efficiency of manufacturing processes, optimize the use of natural resources and minimize the environmental impact of production chains. With more than 300 million electric motor systems in operation globally, ABB seeks to transform the way this equipment is managed and disposed of. Once a customer has updated its equipment, ABB collects the old machinery and transports it to an approved partner to be dismantled, de-characterized and recycled, transforming it into raw material again.
Prosecute "Energy Criminals" for Looting State Wealth Through Irrational Deals: CAB
The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) has demanded that the interim government take steps to prosecute "energy criminals" for looting state wealth from 2009 to 2024 through various irrational deals with both local and international companies.
Dr. M Shamsul Alam, an advisor to CAB, made this demand during a "Dialogue with Media on Reforms in the Energy Sector: Perspectives of CAB-Proposed Bangladesh Energy Transformation Policy 2024" held at Bishwa Shahitya Kendra in the city on Thursday.
He said trial of these energy criminals should be conducted under the Consumers Protection Act and BERC Act 2003.
CAB General Secretary Advocate Humayun Kabir Bhuiya, Organizing Secretary Prof. Dr. Mizanur Rahman Razu, and Research Coordinator Subho Kibria also addressed the event.
Dr. Shamsul Alam said interim government must investigate and determine the extent of wealth looted from different segments of the power sector, including imports, generation, transmission, and distribution, as well as the actual spending in the sector.
"The CAB wants to establish the consumers' right to access energy and ensure energy security," he said, adding that the energy sector should be viewed as a service sector rather than a commercial one.
The CAB advisor suggested that the prices of all energy products should be set through public hearings, as stipulated in the BERC Act.
He also called for specific provisions in the BERC Act to govern appointments to top positions and for reforms in the Act itself.
CAB specifically named former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ex-State Minister Nasrul Hamid, ex-Adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, and former Power Secretaries Abul Kalam Azad, Monwar Islam, and Dr. Ahmed Kaikaus as the main energy criminals.
During the discussion, reporters in the energy sector emphasized that the interim government should focus on reforms in the energy sector to prevent vested interest groups from exploiting political influence.
Although the government is prioritizing renewable energy, there is no specific, time-bound plan or roadmap to implement such projects, they said.
They also advised CAB to engage with political parties to understand their plans and encourage them to include energy-related issues, especially energy transition, in their election manifestos.
Rosatom Develops Micro Sources for Internal Radiotherapy
Experts from Reactor Materials Institute (IRM), a company within Rosatom's Scientific Division, have developed new ionizing radiation sources based on iridium-192 for use in brachytherapy (internal or short-distance radiotherapy). The high-dose therapy using these sources is safe for patients and practitioners while being effective in treating numerous malignant tumors, both intracavitary and interstitial.
Rosatom’s solution is unique because of its small size. It consists of a needle irradiated in the research reactor and enclosed in a capsule. A cable manufactured using specialized techniques is welded to the capsule. All these operations are performed remotely using a manipulator in a high-temperature chamber.
“We have already developed prototypes. Now we are ready to deliver them to clinics for testing. We plan to get our product certified and registered as a medical device in 2025. We will launch the product in the Russian market and later the CIS market following receipt of necessary permits,” said Denis Butakov, Head of Radiation Technologies at IRM.
The gamma-therapy system “Brachium” allows precise point treatment due to the introduction of small applicators that deliver doses of ionizing radiation directly into or very close to the tumor. This makes it possible to target cancer cells with high-dose radiation while minimizing damage to the patient’s body. The system uses closed-source gamma radiation based on Cobalt-60 or Iridium-192 radionuclides.
