Project

Foundrybench goal is to foster energy efficiency and rational energy use in the metal casting sector. The specific objectives are:

– to raise the awareness of opportunities to reduce energy use and stimulate the spread of best practices for energy efficiency improvement in the foundry sector.

– to develop a database of the best energy saving practices in foundries, containing practical information on energy saving solutions and their effect on energy consumption and costs.

– to develop a well-targeted foundry-specific benchmarking tool, based on uniform and professional assessment of foundry energy use that can be applied throughout different foundry or product types and climatic conditions.

Description of the work:

The project work is formally described in seven work packages (WP):. WP1 covers consortium management and technical management of the project. Operational work starts from WP2 by developing and agreeing on a common methodology and tools for analysing the energy efficiency of the foundries in order to produce mutually comparable results. Implementing the energy analyses in the participating foundries is done in WP3. This will provide comparative data to build the energy efficiency index (EEI) and recommendations to improve the energy efficiency in foundry and will estimate the effect of the elaborated energy saving options on the EEI. An energy efficiency ranking system relevant for given types of foundries will be established in WP4. WP5 combines the key findings in a publication of best practices in energy savings in foundries. This provides practical means for disseminating the results around Europe. Communication and dissemination activities are covered by WP6 and WP7.

Major outputs and results

The project provides information on foundries’ energy use, energy flows and energy saving potentials and solutions thus motivating foundries to improve their energy efficiency. A pool of energy saving options generated through these energy analyses is described in a guide and in a database. An Energy Efficiency Index for foundry industry, taking into consideration the production technology and product type, is developed to facilitate the benchmarking exercise. Results will be promoted to foundries and policy makers as a tool to develop foundry industry energy performance, as a marketing tool and as background information for national or EU-wide policies.

The sole responsibility for the content of this webpage and publications lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Foundrybench is supported by: IEE