Efficiency in Automation for a More Sustainable Future

When companies reduce their energy consumption, this can save valuable resources. We explain how KUKA robots can help and what we do ourselves to become more efficient.

Optimized energy efficiency for greater sustainability

Efficiency plays a key role on the way to greater sustainability. Efficiency is important not only for the economic profitability of a company, but also for its ecological balance. For sustainable development, valuable resources must be conserved and integrated into the circular economy.?The desire for more energy efficiency in production is increasing – also, for example, due to the increase in energy costs.?

By investing in automation, companies can increase the efficiency of their production and reduce the consumption of resources.

Energy-efficient robots and systems play an important role in reducing the consumption levels and therefore the environmental impact. At KUKA, we are continuously working on solutions that reduce the energy requirements of our robots. The development of new products therefore focuses on a streamlined and stable product design. CO? emissions are reduced during production by reducing the energy consumption of the robots. The operating costs fall at the same time.

How do we make our robots more efficient?

KUKA robots are among the most energy-efficient robots on the market. With three decisive factors, we ensure greater sustainability and efficiency by reducing the energy consumption of our robots.

Weight & design

Sophisticated and lightweight design with less material input and lower power consumption.
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Hardware

Robot controller with energy-efficient components and algorithms.
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Software

Intelligent path planning, optimized motion behavior and energy-saving options (e.g. ECO mode).
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Two major advantages for KUKA customers –
sustainable & cost-efficient

The term “Total Cost of Ownership” describes the total costs of a product over the entire life cycle. When calculating the TCO, we take into account not only the acquisition costs, but also factors such as energy consumption, integration, spare parts, consumables, maintenance, training and accessories.

Energy consumption can account for the major share of the total costs and even exceed the costs of acquisition, depending on the robot type. It is therefore particularly important, in terms of the costs, to target low energy requirements.

With KUKA solutions, you can increase the economic efficiency of your production by increasing the efficiency. KUKA robotic solutions are among the most energy-efficient solutions on the market.

Our energy efficiency duo

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Saving energy with digitization

Whether for condition monitoring, asset management or predictive maintenance – with KUKA iiQoT, you can maximize the operating time of your robots.

The IoT platform offers, among other things, the option of tracking and evaluating the energy consumption of the entire robot fleet. The results can be used to optimize energy efficiency in production.

Calculating potential savings when using iiQoT:

Do you want to find out what effects condition monitoring with the IIoT could have on your production? You can test the efficient fault analysis in an example with our savings calculator.

DC is the future

In the case of direct current (DC), the electric charge flows only in one direction, unlike in the case of alternating current (AC).

Advantages of direct current:

Low energy consumption
Low losses and easy to store energy
Feeding recovered braking energy back into the grid easily and without losses (without converters)
Reduction of the peak load and cable cross-section
Easy integration of regenerative power (e.?g. with PV systems)

To further expand the energy efficiency of our robotic solutions, we at KUKA are developing products that can be integrated into DC networks. Our KR C5 robot controller, for example, is also designed for use with direct current.

Eco mode and standby mode

Eco mode is a software-based motion mode that optimizes the motion characteristics of a KUKA robot for its intended use and field of application. For example, one of the largest German OEMs has been saving up to 10% of the energy costs for its KUKA robot fleet for several years thanks to the standard use of Eco mode – at the push of a button without programming.

Standby mode can save even up to 95% of the energy consumption of a robot system. In this Hibernate mode, companies can react flexibly to their production capacity. In Hibernate state, the drives and controller of the robots are temporarily switched off. The robots are set to reduced power state. In production-free times, the robots thus consume considerably less power.

We are leading the way

For our transparent reporting on environmental, social and governance topics, we were honored with the ESG Transparency Award for the second year in a row and once again achieved the excellence class. This award honors companies for their pioneering sustainability concepts and their transparent reporting.

We have also been nominated several times in a row for the German Sustainability Award in recognition of our ecological and social commitment. This seal recognizes exemplary sustainability achievements and is Germany’s most prestigious award in the field of environmental, social and governance (ESG).

German Sustainability Award 2024 — Nomination for the German Sustainability Award in 2024

What we do at KUKA to save energy

We, too, want to become more sustainable and focus on greater efficiency, resource conservation and environmental friendliness. We are reducing consumption at our sites around the world and increasing energy efficiency with a wide range of measures.

Green electricity & district heating

By 2030, KUKA's sites worldwide are expected to receive 100 percent green electricity.

Compared to the average electricity mix in Germany, the purchase of green electricity enables us to save more than 10,000 tons of CO? per year. We already cover part of the power supply at some sites with environmentally friendly green electricity. By using district heating instead of natural gas, we are already achieving significant emission reductions at some European sites.

Photovoltaics

We rely on green technology powered by renewable energy to conserve our environment. In recent years, we have been able to increase the amount of energy from photovoltaic (PV) systems at an increasing number of production sites worldwide. In the mean time, the total volume is now more than 5 million kWh with a roof area of more than 36,000 square meters.

Building energy efficiency

The technology installed at KUKA's company buildings is also making a significant contribution to the company’s energy efficiency. For this reason, we are investing in modernizations to enable better energy management.

With these measures, we are increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings:

Automated measurement, control and regulation technology of buildings
Automated switch-off of machines, LED lighting and control of light intensity, depending on the daylight
Energy-efficient compressed air compressors and refrigeration systems as well as programmable thermostats
Use of waste heat for heating systems

E-mobility

We will be switching the KUKA vehicle fleet to electric vehicles by 2030. At the same time, we will continue to invest in the charging infrastructure.

At numerous German sites, we offer JobRad, a leasing model for bicycles, to our employees. This offer includes E-bikes.

Reusable packaging

When packaging our products and components, we use environmentally friendly pendulum packaging instead of disposable packaging at various sites to reduce the packaging waste. Pendulum packaging is, for example, boxes made of plywood, which can be reused repeatedly to transport products.

Most recently, we have managed to reduce our waste generation by more than two percent despite an increase in the business volume.

According to the contractually agreed performance requirements, all KUKA suppliers are also required to use reusable packaging in the supply process.

Efficiency Drives Sustainability: Vision and goals for a more sustainable future

Vision & goals for a more sustainable future

The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations are an integral component of our KUKA identity. By 2030, we aim to reduce our CO? emissions by 40% and continue to invest in energy-efficient robotics and advocate for social standards and human rights worldwide.

ESG - the main 3 factors

KUKA meets global challenges with innovative, energy-efficient automation, responsible procurement and resource-saving circular economy. We are committed to occupational health and safety, diversity and community engagement.

Reducing the TCO by reducing the energy consumption

When purchasing a robot, the energy costs are often underestimated, although they can account for up to 40% of the total costs. Every kilowatt hour saved counts – for your budget and the environment.

Energy-efficient robotics

Innovative drive technologies and ultra-compact designs make our robots energy efficient. KUKA is one of the world’s most energy-efficient robots on the market and offers maximum performance.

Simulation for greater energy efficiency

Simulation programming can be used to make the motion of robots predictable in a production environment and optimize them even before the start-up. In this way, the energy consumption of the automation solution is reduced as far as possible to adapt to the production requirements.

Saving energy with Eco and Sleep modes

Companies worldwide are under pressure to reduce cycle times and costs. Motion modes such as Eco and Sleep modes optimize the robot motion and save up to 95% energy.

Second and third life robots

KUKA robots are of high quality and durable, making them reliable production assistants even in their second and third life. By extending life cycles and reusing components, we reduce CO? emissions and promote the circular economy.

E-mobility – mobility of the future?

E-mobility is the key to a more sustainable future. As part of research collaborations, KUKA is developing innovative automation processes in order to make up to 96% of the raw materials from e-vehicle batteries safe and efficiently recyclable.