SKF, the world leader in bearing technologies, has joined forces with Perfesco, EDF Group’s subsidiary and expert in energy efficiency, in an ambitious partnership aimed at reducing energy consumption at the Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire and Rouvignies sites, through the complete transformation of the plants' lighting systems.
Ambitious, multi-year projects
Initiated in 2016 at Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire and in 2019 at Rouvignies, this lighting renovation project is part of the SKF Group's continuous innovation approach and has been divided into several phases in order to implement the latest technological innovations.
At Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire, the first phase, launched in 2016 and followed by a 2nd phase in 2019, involved replacing almost 4,500 lights with the latest-generation LED models. The number of light points has been optimised to achieve significant savings, while at the same time increasing lighting levels to ensure optimum comfort for employees (500 lux in the workshops, 250 lux in the storage areas). Intelligent management of natural light has also been installed. Taken together, these measures resulted in savings of over 65%.
The third and final phase, to be carried out in 2022, will see the replacement of a further 3,700 lights and the deployment of a latest-generation intelligent management system (presence detection, dimming of luminous flux according to daylight levels, real-time control via the internet, interactive dashboards) to achieve even greater savings. The lighting in some buildings has been completely redesigned. In certain areas, such as the basement of a production building, the energy consumption of lighting has been reduced by more than 90%.
Perfesco's technical teams carried out audits, 3D photometric modelling and design studies for the installation of management systems and the replacement of more than 8,300 LED lights spread over 300,000 m². Perfesco played a key role by investing over €2m on behalf of SKF.
Encouraging results for the SKF group, which is satisfied with this collaboration
Following the commissioning of the project’s last phase, the results are convincing: energy consumption linked to lighting at the SKF site in Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire has been significantly reduced, from 6.5 GWh/year to 2.1 GWh/year, representing an annual saving of 4.4 GWh. This reduction is equivalent to around 10% of the site's total energy consumption. The environmental impact of the project is very positive, as it has enabled the SKF group to reduce its carbon footprint by almost 400 tons of CO2 eq per year. In addition, the installation of long-life lights has cut the amount of electronic waste generated by annual maintenance by a factor of 5.
Building on the success of this project, Perfesco has also supported the group's SKF Aero-engine division, based in Rouvignies (59), in its decarbonisation trajectory. On this second project, also involving lighting, annual savings of around 1 GWh were made on the site's energy bill. This represents a 58% energy saving on the SKF Aeroengine site's lighting.
In addition to the energy savings achieved, SKF salutes the work of Perfesco, which took full account of the working conditions of its employees. Perfesco was able to guarantee the best possible comfort for the site's teams, in particular by improving lighting levels adapted to the activities in the various areas of the site, while taking into account the various constraints specific to this industry.
In addition, the contractual scheme providing for remuneration based exclusively on performance ensures that SKF achieves the ambitious targets the Group has set itself over the duration of the contract. These actions contribute to SKF's objective of reducing its net emissions by 40% by 2023.
A success that opens the door to other collaborations between the two companies
Satisfied with this collaboration, SKF and Perfesco are exploring ways of continuing to work together towards SKF's carbon reduction ambitions in France. Perfesco is currently deploying its analysis methodology on the site's air handling units (AHUs). The two groups are currently working on other potential sources of energy savings for the site.
Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire site, before and after relamping
Based on the positive feedback from the Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire site, we have pursued the discussions initiated with a view to deploying comparable solutions at our Rouvignies site. This collaboration demonstrates the joint commitment of SKF and Perfesco to sustainable industrial projects that benefit both the environment and the economy. The Group's objectives are very ambitious, and to achieve them we need to work with the best, and with those who share our values
We are particularly proud of our cooperation with SKF, a pioneer in its commitment to reducing its CO2 emissions. The company has placed its trust in us to support and invest alongside them at several industrial sites, reducing their energy footprint and improving their competitiveness.