Danfoss provides solutions like District Cooling, which can reduce the overall energy requirements by up to 50%.

Ravichandran Purushothaman

- President, Danfoss India

Danfoss has worked with a number of successful smart city projects globally. “We have the experience and the solutions, in terms of products and services, required to transform the proposed cities into smart cities and demonstrate energy solutions available for the future,” states Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss India. Excerpts from the interview…

How do you assess the growth projection of the smart city industry and also tell us the potential of business opportunities for Danfoss' smart city solution in India?

As global governments and companies race to improve standards of living for their citizens, the foundation lies in the transition towards making our cities smarter. Smart technology is now a critical aspect across all city operations including public transportation, sanitation and solid waste management, IT connectivity, efficient urban mobility, water and power supply, efficient urban mobility, e-governance and citizen participation among others.

 Cities like Singapore, Dubai, Copenhagen, Barcelona etc. remain at the forefront of this transition towards achieving sustainability because of progressive government policies supported by technology partners who share the same approach towards development. Similarly, in India, the government's National Smart Cities Mission is the cornerstone in developing citizen-friendly and sustainable 'smart' cities across the country.

Urban clusters contribute about 70% of India's GDP and it is expected that these numbers will increase. Most of these urban clusters revolve around industries that are set up near the cities or on the outskirts which are given priority for access to electricity. As we plan to develop smart cities, the pressure on the energy grid is expected to increase. While there are programmes to generate renewable energy, along with other sources of energy, we need to meet the demand of the new cities and simultaneously ensure the provision of energy access for all.

Furthermore, the application of smart systems based on IoT, automation and big data can help to save crores of rupees a year in energy costs. At Danfoss, we see cities at the forefront of the transformation on how we can fix the climate crisis. Our products are engineered to offer future-proof solutions which help us achieve our climate targets. Engaging in partnerships directly with the various smart city projects across the nation, where we are able to implement these technologies, is a way in which Danfoss can play a part, especially in emerging markets like India.

Could you brief us on the solutions offered for smart city projects in India specially to bring energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprint?

Danfoss has worked with a number of successful smart city projects globally. We have the experience and the solutions, in terms of products and services, required to transform the proposed cities into smart cities and demonstrate energy solutions available for the future. Danfoss provides solutions like District Cooling, which can reduce the overall energy requirements by up to 50 percent. Danfoss provides future ready equipment and the expertise at every step of the process. Apart from this, we provide ultra-modern HVAC-R solutions for commercial and industrial spaces including residential projects, supermarkets, sustainable plants, warehouses and transportation facilities which need to be designed in a sustainable fashion, while keeping the smart city setup in mind. Our products and services are designed to provide maximum energy efficiency in a bid to achieve carbon neutrality for our cities in the future.

In Denmark, Danfoss is leading the Energylab Nordhavn project about smart components in the integrated energy systems. The project demonstrates and analyses the technical and economic feasibilities of smart control of specific components and systems - with main functions to provide heat and cooling services in buildings.

The same technologies can be applied to smart city projects in India and help to deliver efficiency and flexibility in the energy system with the inclusion of district heating substations based on ultra-low temperatures, remote-controlled radiator thermostats for the regulation of building space heating, and utilization of surplus heat from a supermarket's refrigeration system.

Could you also brief a project where your solutions were offered and its techno-commercial benefits?

Our cities cover only 3% of the world's surface, but they drive 80% of its economic output, and over half the earth's population lives in them. At the same time, cities are massive consumers and account for 60-80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon emissions. Rapid urbanization is exerting extra pressure on climate, health, infrastructure and access to basic services like heating, cooling and water. But done right, it is a major opportunity for achieving sustainable growth, bringing efficiency gains and technological innovation while reducing resource and energy consumption.

The Chinese city of Benxi was suffocating in smog. Today, the capital of Chinese steel industry can breathe again. Danfoss helped the city implement a district heating solution using surplus heat from the local steel production. In 2020, that will reduce the annual coal use in Benxi by 198,000 tons and provide clean air for the population.

Similarly in Hamburg's new green city quarter, HafenCity, sustainable and cost-efficient solutions with Danfoss technologies are keeping consumption of power, heating and cooling to a minimum in buildings and the supply systems. For example, surplus heat from power plants is used to heat all buildings, instead of going to waste. This way, 90% of the primary energy can be used. A concept which could be expanded to other residential areas and cities. Compared to a conventional fossil fuel heat supply, approximately 3.7 million euros in fuel costs and 14,000 tons of CO2 are saved every year.

Aarhus could be another story to indicate how Danfoss can solve the energy water nexus in the urban cities in India. The Marselisborg catchment area in Aarhus (second municipality in Denmark) has achieved 100% energy surplus production by minimising consumption throughout the whole water cycle and maximizing energy production from the wastewater facility. Danfoss has helped achieve this without adding external carbon to the wastewater facility or using any other external energy source.

How do you assess the potential for your range of solutions from Data Centres?

Cooling of IT equipment in data centres is an increasing challenge for operators and design engineers. Increase in server density has also increased overall energy consumption and heat loads, making power management a major challenge. Danfoss offers safe and efficient solutions for data centre cooling. Our variable speed compressors ensure precise humidity control and better control of static electricity. For sensitive power grid situations, it requires minimum start-up current to load, offers reduced downtime, and an increase in the overall lifetime of the system. Additionally, the Danfoss inverter technology modulates cooling between 25 and 100 percent, saving upto 50% of the overall energy cost in a data centre. Our solutions can help in cutting down electricity consumption in data centres and enable the channelizing of surplus heat for household heating.

Could you brief us on the concept of district cooling and what contributory role Danfoss plays?

District cooling provides chilled water for indoor cooling purposes to industrial, commercial and residential buildings through a closed loop pipe network. Through the district cooling network, the cooling plant pumps chilled supply water to a buildings' own cooling system through a heat exchanger. When the water has cooled the building, it returns to the cooling plant at a higher temperature where it is chilled again and redistributed in a closed loop. The efficiency rate of a district cooling system is 5 to 10 times higher than a traditional cooling system. District cooling avoids the capital cost of installing chillers and cooling towers and frees up valuable rooftop and building space. Moreover, it saves energy, saves water and reduces emissions. Apart from this, district cooling creates economies-of-scale by aggregating the cooling needs of multiple buildings. The application of Danfoss' solutions for district cooling can reduce cooling energy consumption by 50%. Our expertise in this area stems from the many years of experience and success projects from around the world. Our products and services are optimised to be integrated and offer tangible solutions along the entire value chain from generation and distribution to usage and redistribution. Danfoss' solutions are designed and maintained to provide optimum balance to ensure the efficient operation of the district cooling networks.

What is your outlook for the next 5 years and what further regulatory and policy reforms do you expect to fast track the smart city mission?

 It has become highly imperative to think differently on issues pertaining to water conservation, waste management, vehicular pollution, reducing emissions, rapid urbanisation etc. Therefore, there is a need to transition from traditional solutions to smart solutions in order to find recourses to the challenges, as they continue to grow in scale.

 The enhanced focus on localisation and digitalization by the government is seen as a positive step towards reducing the burden on metropolitan cities and enabling the transformation of more cities towards achieving sustainability. The Union Budget 2021 heralds a positive turn in the infrastructure ecosystem of the country. The proposed investment on various infrastructure development projects with special attention to R&D and proper investment sourcing will set the Indian smart cities program on the right path.

In the next five years, we will also witness a growth in the integration of sustainable solutions like electric vehicles, carbon neutral components, increase in the use of renewable energy, increased digitalization, automation that will position India strongly in the global trajectory for economic growth backed by sustainability.

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