MMK continues to improve energy efficiency of production

The total economic effect from the implementation of projects to improve the energy efficiency of production processes at the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works in 2017 amounted to about 1 billion rubles.

Work to improve energy efficiency was carried out at all levels of the plant’s industrial site. As in previous years, the Company’s energy conservation and energy efficiency activities were carried out in several directions. One of these is the study and implementation of energy-saving ideas. In 2017, 807 energy-efficient ideas were developed, as a result of which 148 projects were successfully implemented. The economic effect from their implementation reached 26 million rubles.

Another important direction was the implementation of low-budget and highly effective energy efficiency projects, which have a short payback period. In 2017, 25 such projects were implemented with a total economic effect of 714 million rubles.

Last year MMK also continued to fulfil its obligations under contracts for the provision of energy services. It included replacing the ceiling lighting in the rolling mills (savings for 2017 amounted to 47 million rubles) and introducing an automated control system for the smoke exhauster drives of the converter gas utilization system for the oxygen-converter shop (savings for 2017 were 68 million rubles). As part of the expansion of activities to implement energy efficiency projects under the energy service scheme in 2017, MMK approved the standard of the organisation that defines the procedural requirements for concluding and executing contracts for the provision of energy services.

Since 2016, the mill has implemented the electronic ‘Energy Management Platform’, which won the prize for ‘Effective management system in the field of energy saving and increasing of energy efficiency at an industrial facility’ at the ENES-2016 All-Russia Contest of Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving Enhancement Projects. In 2017, MMK’s Energy Management Platform (EMP) was finalised by the ideas management unit. At the beginning of 2018, the ‘Idea Search’ section was introduced into the EMP. In this section, the user can search for ideas using keywords (heat exchanger, steam trap, etc.), registration date, energy resources or status. This is designed to simplify the search process for the user when looking for information on particular topics during the idea submission process, and also helps spread the implemented ideas to other structural units. In addition, last year MMK integrated the Platform into the Evolution program complex so that ideas of all categories can be supported in the EMP. Diagrams of the business process for implementing energy-efficient ideas were created for MMK Group’s organisations. Currently ideas of all categories – energy saving, saving of material/technical resources, environment, labour protection and industrial safety, and others – can be supported in the EMP.