2030: The Factory of the Future
When Manufacturing Management magazine was looking for expert contributors for its special Manufacturing Outlook supplement on the factory of the future, the editor approached TCE Energy Director, Peter Houghton, for his views on how the factory of 2030 will look.
Peter Houghton featured prominently in the supplement alongside other leading manufacturing figures from across a wide range of industry sectors, all of whom gave their views on different aspects of manufacturing facilities some ten years down the line. Naturally, energy issues were the primary focus of Peter’s contribution and he covered topics such as the need for manufacturers of 2030 to have actively engaged with the decarbonisation agenda or face prohibitively high carbon costs that would negatively impact on their competitiveness.
Peter outlined TCE’s plans for the UK’s first large scale industrial CCU demonstration plant, that’s set to become operational by 2021 and will cut TCE’s carbon footprint whilst ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of CO2 for the company. He also highlighted how he hopes by 2030 many more energy intensive manufacturing companies will have followed our lead by adopting new technologies such as CCU.
Looking to 2030, Peter said that low/zero carbon clusters will be well advanced and plans to introduce hydrogen as a fuel along with a carbon reduce as the technology advances. Peter believes that by 2030 blockchain and big data will also make energy markets more efficient and in the near future, businesses will be able to generate a virtual factory to improve product and process design, as well as decision-making, enabling the creation of a real-time cyber-physical environment.
Peter highlighted how measurement skills will provide assurance that a product, deployed through a digitally enabled supply chain, meets quality standards and customer needs, while improving productivity and profitability for manufacturers.
For further details on Manufacturing Management’s Manufacturing Outlook supplement visit: www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk/features