Düsseldorf, Germany – September 2024 – A leading German steel manufacturer has reported an 18% reduction in energy consumption for its hot rolling mill after upgrading to the ABB GFD233A103 3BHE022294R0103 power module. The upgrade, completed in July 2024, addressed inefficiencies in the mill’s aging drive system that were costing the facility €380,000 annually in excess electricity costs—critical savings as European energy prices remain volatile.
The Challenge: Aging Drives Held Back Energy Efficiency
Prior to adopting the GFD233A103, the Düsseldorf mill relied on 15-year-old power modules to control its hot rolling mill drives. These modules struggled with two major issues that undermined efficiency:
- Poor Load Regulation: The old modules couldn’t adjust power output smoothly to match fluctuations in rolling demand. During peak production, they over-supplied power to the drives, wasting 12–15% of energy; during lulls, they failed to reduce output, leading to unnecessary consumption.
- Frequent Overheating: The outdated design lacked advanced thermal management, forcing the mill to shut down the rolling line for 2–3 hours weekly to cool the modules. These unplanned stops delayed production of 500+ tons of steel monthly and increased maintenance costs by €12,000 annually.
With the mill aiming to meet Germany’s 2030 industrial carbon reduction targets, the inefficient drive system had become a roadblock. “We needed a solution that could handle the rolling mill’s variable loads while staying cool—something our old modules simply couldn’t do,” said Thomas Becker, the mill’s maintenance director. “Every kilowatt we wasted pushed us further from our sustainability goals.”
After testing four industrial power modules, the mill selected the ABB GFD233A103 for its load flexibility, thermal resilience, and seamless integration with existing ABB ACS880 drives:
- Adaptive Load Regulation: The GFD233A103 uses ABB’s proprietary Dynamic Power Adjustment (DPA) technology to match power output to real-time rolling demand. It adjusts voltage and frequency in 0.1-second increments, eliminating over-supply and cutting energy waste.
- Advanced Thermal Management: The module’s aluminum heat sink and variable-speed cooling fan keep operating temperatures 25°C lower than the old modules. It can run continuously at 100% load without overheating, even in the mill’s 45°C hot rolling environment.
- Rugged Durability: With an IP54-rated enclosure and resistance to dust, vibration, and electrical interference (common in steel mills), the GFD233A103 is built for harsh conditions. Its mean time between failures (MTBF) of 250,000 hours is 3x longer than the old modules.
- Easy Retrofit: The GFD233A103 fits the same mounting brackets as the old modules, requiring no modifications to the mill’s control cabinet. The ABB team installed 6 modules across 3 rolling lines in 36 hours—with no production shutdown.
Results: Energy Savings and Uninterrupted Production
Two months post-upgrade, the mill’s metrics show transformative improvements:
- Energy use down 18%: The hot rolling mill now consumes 420 MWh less electricity monthly, saving €7,000 weekly and €364,000 annually.
- Downtime eliminated: Overheating-related stops are gone, adding 8–10 hours of production time weekly and increasing steel output by 2,000 tons monthly.
- Maintenance costs cut by 40%: The GFD233A103’s self-diagnostic features (alerting to potential issues like loose wiring) reduced unplanned repairs by 12 per month.
“The GFD233A103 didn’t just save us money—it helped us future-proof our mill,” Becker said. “We’re now on track to meet our 2030 carbon targets, and the module’s reliability means we can focus on scaling production, not fixing equipment.”
Sophie Müller, ABB’s global product manager for industrial power modules, emphasized the GFD233A103’s relevance to heavy industry. “Steel mills and other heavy manufacturers need power modules that can handle variable loads without sacrificing efficiency,” she said. “The GFD233A103 3BHE022294R0103 is engineered for that reality—delivering savings and reliability that old technology can’t match.”
The mill plans to install 10 more GFD233A103 modules in its cold rolling division by Q1 2025, with the goal of cutting overall energy use by 15%.
