In the future, our planet will be increasingly dependent on electricity for life and work. Annual global electricity consumption is forecast to double from the present rate of over 20,000 terawatt hours by 2050. Renewable forms of energy currently account for approximately 24 per cent of energy generation, and this is expected to increase to 85 per cent by 2050.

– Arnon’s expertise is ideally suited to all of this, and we aim to be involved in supporting our customers in this development. You might think that renewable forms of energy are a thing for the future, but they are already here, writes Harri Lamminen, Arnon’s CEO.

Fossil fuels will make way for solar, wind, hydroelectric, wave and tidal power, energy storage, geothermal heat, waste heat produced by industry and shipping, and fuel cells. Volumes of greenhouse gases will decrease, and it is hoped that this will arrest climate change.

At the same time, the degree of automation will increase across every facet of society, and industry will increasingly need more heavy-duty automation to control new forms of energy. Automation has been joined by cloud technology, which is able to handle the tasks of data collection and reporting more flexibly and inexpensively, enabling new services based on data.

– We should not forget that within the 24-hour cycle, there are moments when the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow – at these times, there will be a need for agile energy storage. Automation will control different energy sources safely and rapidly, switching them on and off in accordance with consumption demand, says Lamminen.

ELECTRICAL OPERATION WILL TAKE US TOWARDS ZERO EMISSIONS

Arnon’s customers – machinery, equipment and system providers to the mining, energy, marine and renewable industries – are keenly focused on developing solutions to minimize or eliminate emissions from their equipment. Electrical operation will present them with new opportunities, particularly in combination with increased rates of automation and cloud services. Lamminen calls this combination the megatrend of megatrends, and Arnon is riding the crest of this wave as the pioneer in its sector.

– Electrically operated equipment will necessitate major changes to electricity infrastructure. For example, ships will spend less time in port, and they must be loaded rapidly.

THE CLOUD? YES, BUT AT WHAT PRICE?

One of the solutions that provides customers with added value is the Arnon Sky cloud services, which refines the data obtained from customers’ equipment and machinery into a more useful form for little expense.

– Everyone is talking about cloud services but nobody mentions the costs – there has been almost no public debate about this. There must be the competences in place to do everything correctly from the very beginning in order for costs to remain at a sensible level. We have financially optimized the use of the cloud to ensure that we do not use or do anything that is not necessary. I am sure that we will have plenty to keep us busy once customers notice how expensive their cloud services are becoming, Lamminen states.

– The cloud should never be thought of purely as a cost – instead, it should be considered a new service, which makes data available and useful.