Report on ABB’s EVEMS and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

ABB Installation Products has launched the Microlectric EM Series Electric Vehicle Energy Management System (EVEMS) for the Canadian market. This report analyzes the system’s features and its significant alignment with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the areas of clean energy, sustainable infrastructure, and climate action. The system, developed with technology from Black Box Innovations and manufactured in Canada, intelligently manages residential energy distribution to facilitate electric vehicle (EV) adoption without requiring costly electrical infrastructure upgrades.

Product Overview and Technical Specifications

The Microlectric EM Series EVEMS is an intelligent energy management solution designed to optimize power distribution within residential settings.

• Functionality: The system monitors a home’s total electrical capacity in real-time. It automatically permits or pauses EV charging based on the availability of sufficient power, thereby preventing grid overload.
• Application: It can manage other non-essential high-draw appliances, ensuring priority for essential home functions.
• Compatibility: The system is designed for scalability and is compatible with standard residential electrical service entrances ranging from 60 to 200 amps.
• Target Buildings: It is suitable for single residential homes, multi-residential units, and multifamily buildings.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The EVEMS directly supports the advancement of several key SDGs by addressing critical barriers to sustainable technology adoption.

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

The system promotes access to affordable and clean energy by making the transition to electric mobility more feasible for a wider population.

1. Enhancing Affordability: By managing electrical loads intelligently, the EVEMS eliminates the need for expensive service panel and infrastructure upgrades, a major financial barrier that can deter homeowners from purchasing an EV.
2. Promoting Clean Energy Use: It facilitates the adoption of electric vehicles, which are central to transitioning the transport sector to cleaner energy sources and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The EVEMS represents an important innovation in sustainable infrastructure and supports local industry.

• Building Resilient Infrastructure: The technology makes existing residential electrical infrastructure more resilient, adaptable, and “future-ready” to handle the increased energy demands of an electrified transport system.
• Fostering Local Innovation: The partnership between ABB and Calgary-based Black Box Innovations, coupled with manufacturing at facilities in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Calgary, strengthens Canada’s domestic industrial and technological capabilities.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

By simplifying EV readiness for homes, the product contributes to the creation of more sustainable urban and residential environments.

• Reducing Urban Pollution: Widespread EV adoption, enabled by technologies like EVEMS, is critical for reducing air and noise pollution in cities, leading to healthier communities.
• Supporting Sustainable Housing: The solution allows for the integration of EV charging infrastructure into new and existing multi-family buildings, a key component of sustainable urban development.

SDG 13: Climate Action

The primary impact of the EVEMS is its contribution to climate change mitigation by accelerating the decarbonization of transportation.

1. Lowering Transportation Emissions: The system directly addresses climate action by removing a significant obstacle to the widespread adoption of EVs, which is a crucial strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
2. Optimizing Energy Consumption: Intelligent load management contributes to overall grid efficiency and stability, which is essential for integrating intermittent renewable energy sources and supporting a low-carbon energy system.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

  The article focuses on the ABB Microlectric EM Series EVEMS, a system designed to manage energy for charging electric vehicles (EVs). This directly relates to promoting clean energy by facilitating the adoption of EVs. It also addresses the “affordable” aspect by helping homeowners avoid “costly electrical upgrades,” making the transition to clean transportation more accessible.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  The EVEMS is a technological innovation developed through a partnership between ABB and Black Box Innovations. The article highlights how this product upgrades existing residential electrical infrastructure to support modern, clean technologies. Furthermore, the mention of manufacturing in Canadian facilities in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Calgary points to local industrial capability and development.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  By making EV charging feasible and affordable in “single residential, multi-residential, and multifamily buildings,” the technology supports the development of sustainable transportation infrastructure within cities and communities. Widespread EV adoption is a key strategy for reducing urban air pollution and creating more sustainable living environments.

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  The fundamental driver for the transition to electric vehicles is to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. The quote, “Empowering Canadians to embrace clean energy starts with removing the barriers that slow adoption,” explicitly links the product to broader climate action goals by enabling a key decarbonization strategy.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

  1. Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The system facilitates the use of EVs, which are powered by electricity. As the grid increasingly incorporates renewables, this technology helps shift the transportation sector’s energy consumption towards cleaner sources.
  2. Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. The EVEMS is an energy efficiency tool that “optimizes residential energy distribution” and “intelligently monitors available electrical capacity,” ensuring that high-load activities like EV charging do not waste energy or overload the system.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  1. Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies. The article describes how the EVEMS upgrades existing residential electrical infrastructure (from 60 to 200 amps) to support the clean technology of electric vehicles, making homes “EV-ready” sustainably.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  1. Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality. By removing a significant barrier to EV adoption in dense residential settings, the technology contributes to replacing internal combustion engine vehicles, which is a primary method for improving urban air quality.

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  1. Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The promotion and adoption of technologies like the EVEMS represent a tangible implementation of climate change mitigation strategies at the consumer and infrastructure level, aligning with national goals to reduce carbon emissions.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

  1. Implied Indicator for Target 7.3: The system’s function to “automatically starting or stopping charging based on power availability” implies a measure of energy efficiency. Progress could be measured by the amount of energy consumption shifted from peak to off-peak hours or the avoidance of grid overload events in buildings where the system is installed.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  1. Implied Indicator for Target 9.4: The article specifies the product is for “single residential, multi-residential, and multifamily buildings.” A direct indicator of progress would be the number of residential units or buildings that have been made “EV-ready” through the installation of this system, representing the scale of infrastructure upgrades.

• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

  1. Implied Indicator for Target 11.6: While not directly mentioned, the ultimate goal is to increase EV use. Therefore, an implied indicator is the rate of EV adoption in multi-family and other residential buildings following the installation of such management systems, which would correlate with reductions in urban transport emissions.

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  1. Implied Indicator for Target 13.2: The article highlights avoiding “costly electrical upgrades” as a key benefit. An indicator for the implementation of climate action would be the number of homes that have adopted clean energy technology (EV charging) without requiring major, carbon-intensive electrical grid upgrades, showcasing a more efficient path to decarbonization.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: chargedevs.com