HBRF Megamax – Emax2 Air Circuit Breaker ABB

ABB Purpose & Embedding Sustainability

ABB is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its elec- trification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technol- ogy to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105 thousand talented employees in over 100 coun- tries.

ABB's Electrification business offers a wide-ranging portfolio of products, digital solutions and services, from substation to socket, enabling safe, smart and sustainable electrification. Offerings encompass digital and connected innovations for low voltage and medium voltage, including EV infrastructure, solar inverters, modular substations, distribution automation, power protection, wiring accessories, switchgear, enclosures, cabling, sensing and control. ABB is committed to continually promoting and embedding sustainability across its opera- tions and value chain, aspiring to become a role model for others to follow. With its ABB Pur- pose, ABB is focusing on reducing harmful emissions, preserving natural resources and cham- pioning ethical and humane behavior.

General Information

ABB’s Dalmine factory represents a centre of excellence in ABB for the development and man- ufacture of low-voltage circuit breakers. The 150,000 square-meter facility with 800 employ- ees is highly automated and produces more than 3 million circuit breakers every year. A Light- house Plant, selected by the Italian government as a model for digital transformation and Industry 4.0 strategies, Dalmine promotes smart, digitalized, and connected operations, in- creasing efficiency across the full value chain. Achieving zero production waste to landfill was a whole-factory program. Flexibility, lean production processes, capacity to efficiently and rap- idly meet market demands, and process innovation are some of the most significant charac- teristics of this site. Retrofitting replaces outdated parts, like old circuit breakers, with smarter, more advanced systems. This not only significantly enhances your energy handling and safety but also reduces costs and carbon emissions by updating parts instead of overhauling the entire setup. By choosing retrofitting, you are making a sustainable choice that minimizes waste and promotes the efficient use of resources.  

ABB ELSE offers a compelling retrofit solution for a seamless upgrade, replacing old breakers such as DR GE Mpact, DR GEC Alsthom, DR Legrand, DR Bticino Megabreak, and DR F.T.M.C Power-Wave plus with the state-of-the-art EMax2 breaker and retrofit kit. This ensures enhanced reliability and performance without the need to modify your existing Switchgear. Embrace the future of energy management with ABB ELSE’s innovative solutions And contribute to a greener planet.

ABB IT-ELSE adopts and implements for its own activities an integrated Quality/Environmental/Health Management System in compliance with the following standards:

 UNI EN ISO 9001/2015 - Quality Management Systems – Requirements 

 UNI EN ISO 14001/2015 - Environmental management systems – Specification with guid- ance for use 

 UNI EN ISO 45001:2018 - Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series – Require- ments

Moreover, Dalmine plant has in place an energy management system that covers all the activ- ities and that follows the following standard:

 UNI EN ISO 50001:2018 – Energy Management System – Requirements with guidance for use

HBRF Megamax - Emax 2 product cluster

HBRF Megamax F2-E2_2_W_HR_3P KIT IEC air circuit breaker is a multifunctional platform able to manage the next generation of electrical plants such as microgrids, evolving into a true Power Manager. HBRF Megamax F2-E2_2_W_HR_3P KIT IEC is an air circuit breaker that matches all the new grid requirements. It enables a direct communication to the new energy manage- ment cloud-computing platform ABB Ability™. Energy and Asset Manager.

Product cluster HBRF Megamax - Emax 2 analyzed in this LCA is IEC type circuit breaker, con- sisting of a moving part (which is inserted and removed via dedicated guide rails).

 HBRF Megamax - Emax 2 (IEC Type)

Temporal and geographical boundaries

The ABB component suppliers are sourced all over the world. All primary data collected are the ABB component suppliers, sourced all over the world. All primary data collected are from 2023, which is a representative production year for production technology of DR NOVOMAX G30 at ABB Dalmine, Italy. The geographical and technological representativeness for the Secondary data is Ecoinvent v3.9 [6]. The selected ecoinvent [6] processes in the LCA model have a global representativeness, due to the unclear origin of each component. In this way, a conservative approach has been adopted. The distribution phase considers global destinations based on the 2023 sales mix from SAP ERP data; installation impacts align with these distribution loca- tions. End-of-life treatment (Global) follows IEC 62635 and ecoinvent data, while the use phase(Global) is assessed using actual 2023 sales mix data across the entire product range.

Boundaries in the life cycle

As indicated in the PCR capital goods such as buildings, machinery, tools and infrastructure, the packaging for internal transport which cannot be allocated directly to the production of the reference product, may be excluded from the system boundary. Infrastructures, when present, such as processes deriving from the ecoinvent [6] database have not been excluded.

Data quality

In this LCA, both primary and secondary data are used. Site specific foreground data have been provided by ABB. Main data sources are the bill of materials & drawings which are available on the ERP (SAP) & Windchill. For all processes for which primary are not available, generic data originating from the ecoinvent database [6], allocation cut-off by classification, are used. The ecoinvent database available in the SimaPro software [7] is used for the calculations.

The data quality characterized by quantitative and qualitative aspects, is presented in Appen- dix 1. Each data quality parameter has been rated according to DQR tables from Chapter 7.19.2.2 of the Product Environmental Footprint Guide v.6.3 to give an indication of geography, technology and temporal representativeness.

Environmental impact indicators

The information obtained from the inventory analysis is aggregated according to the effects related to the various environmental issues. According to “PCR-ed4-EN-2021 09 06” and EN 50693 [3] the environmental impact indicators must be determined using the characterization factors and impact assessment methods specified in EN 15804:2012+A2:2019 [8].

PCR-ed4-EN-2021 09 06 and the EN 50693:2019 [3] standard establish four indicators for cli- mate change: Climate change (total) which includes all greenhouse gases; Climate change (fos- sil fuels); Climate change (biogenic) which includes the emissions and absorption of biogenic carbon dioxide and biogenic carbon stored in the product; Climate change (land use) - land use and land use transformation. Other indicators as per the PCR [1].

Allocation rules

Allocation coefficients are based on the Emax 2 line’s occupancy area for electricity, methane and water consumption as well as the total amount of waste generated by the production line. All these flows have been allocated and divided by the total number of HBRF Megamax - Emax 2 circuit breakers produced in 2023.

Limitations and simplifications

Raw materials life cycle stage includes the extraction of raw materials as well as the transport distances to the manufacturing suppliers. These distances are assumed to be 1000 km as per the PCR [1]. This distance has been added to the one already included in the market processes used for the model, because of a conservative choice made by the LCA operators.

Application of grease lubricant on the circuit breakers operating mechanism has been ex- cluded since it is negligible. Surface treatments like galvanizing, tin and silver plating as well as their related transport processes (back and forth from the finishing suppliers) have been con- sidered in the LCA model. The RAL paints/color coatings used on the components are excluded from modelling. Specific phosphate surface treatment, Stearate coating have been excluded by operational choice (mass of the components involved < 0.9% of the final product, thus neg- ligible). For some components with no equivalent on ecoinvent database [6], the dataset “Elec- tronic component, passive, unspecified {GLO}| market for | Cut-off, S” was used.

Inventory analysis

In this LCA, both primary and secondary data are used. Site specific foreground data have been provided by ABB. For data collection, Bills of Material (BOM) extracted from ABB's internal SAP software were used. They are a list of all the components and assemblies that constitute the finished product, organized by level. Each item is matched with its code, quantity, weight and supplier. The BOMs were then processed, adding material, surface area and other weight data, taken from technical drawings. Finally, the manufacturing process and surface treatment were assigned, according to information provided by R&D personnel. Road distances between the suppliers and ABB were calculated using google maps, and marine distances using distances & time (Searates).