Energy industry looks to the IoT to cut waste and drive down emissions, research finds

Phil Meyers of Inmarsat Enterprise

Energy businesses are increasingly looking to leverage Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to manage and minimise the impact of their operations on the environment. This is a key finding from an independent study commissioned by global mobile satellite company Inmarsat, which found that monitoring environmental changes is the biggest driver of the technology in the energy sector.

Market research specialist Vanson Bourne interviewed 100 energy companies from across the world as part of Inmarsat’s The Future of IoT in Enterprise. It found that monitoring the environment is the primary driver of IoT adoption in the sector; cited by over half (51%) of respondents, ahead of ‘identifying cost saving opportunities’ (47%) and ‘monitoring customer engagement’ (44%t).

Moreover, 44% of respondents stated that they had already improved their environmental sustainability as a result of their use of IoT, and a further 36% expected to do so in future, indicating the effectiveness of the technology in this area.

Commenting on the findings, Phil Meyers, vice-president at Inmarsat Enterprise, said: “The energy industry is the biggest net contributor to greenhouse gas emissions globally, and while it has made great strides over the past few years to reduce emissions, there remains much work to be done.

Energy companies are coming under increasing pressure from regulators, pressure groups and the general public to address this issue, and it is clear that many are looking to new technologies, such as IoT, to increase the sustainability of their operations and reduce their environmental footprints.

“Energy lost in the transmission and distribution of fuel is an area in which we could see some significant and immediate improvements. In the US, the oil and gas industry is responsible for leaking approximately 1 million tonnes of methane into the environment every year,contributing as much to greenhouse emissions as 5.6 million cars. However, by deploying IoT sensors, energy companies can automatically optimise gas distribution to manage pressure in their networks and minimise leakage.

“IoT-enabled, condition-based maintenance tools, meanwhile, can also be deployed to monitor the performance of equipment, helping to identify potential problems and address them before they disrupt operations and wreak havoc on the environment,” he continued.

Meyers concluded: “IoT holds a great deal of promise for enabling the energy sector to cut waste and reduce its impact on the environment, but realising these benefits depends upon stable and reliable connectivity. The success of IoT solutions depends on the ability to regularly transmit data gathered by connected networks of sensors and devices back to a control room for analysis, and in the case of the energy sector, much of that will take place at long distances across remote locations that may lack cellular coverage, which is why satellite is critical.”

Satellite communication networks are optimised to deal with critical communications, providing the reliable and resilient connectivity that is fundamental to the successful deployment of IoT solutions. Inmarsat’s L-band satellite communication network can deliver truly global connectivity to any location and collect large volumes of data with 99.9% uptime, enabling energy companies to safeguard their operations and focus on continued innovation.

Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @IoTNow_OR @jcIoTnow

RECENT ARTICLES

Get a US$50 Amazon voucher for sharing your IoT brand knowledge

Posted on: March 28, 2024

We want to know what you know about the IoT space. Just 3 minutes could earn you a US$50 Amazon digital gift card!

Read more

Enhance EV charging performance with cellular connectivity

Posted on: March 28, 2024

Electric vehicles (EVs) are steadily growing their market share at the expense of internal combustion engine vehicles. The growth is fuelled by several factors. Perhaps most importantly, prices for EVs have started to drop as competition in the industry is intensifying. New players and models are emerging, prompting several established EV makers to lower their

Read more
FEATURED IoT STORIES

What is IoT? A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on: April 5, 2023

What is IoT? IoT, or the Internet of Things, refers to the connection of everyday objects, or “things,” to the internet, allowing them to collect, transmit, and share data. This interconnected network of devices transforms previously “dumb” objects, such as toasters or security cameras, into smart devices that can interact with each other and their

Read more

The IoT Adoption Boom – Everything You Need to Know

Posted on: September 28, 2022

In an age when we seem to go through technology boom after technology boom, it’s hard to imagine one sticking out. However, IoT adoption, or the Internet of Things adoption, is leading the charge to dominate the next decade’s discussion around business IT. Below, we’ll discuss the current boom, what’s driving it, where it’s going,

Read more

9 IoT applications that will change everything

Posted on: September 1, 2021

Whether you are a future-minded CEO, tech-driven CEO or IT leader, you’ve come across the term IoT before. It’s often used alongside superlatives regarding how it will revolutionize the way you work, play, and live. But is it just another buzzword, or is it the as-promised technological holy grail? The truth is that Internet of

Read more

Which IoT Platform 2021? IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide

Posted on: August 30, 2021

There are several different parts in a complete IoT solution, all of which must work together to get the result needed, write IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide – Which IoT Platform 2021? authors Robin Duke-Woolley, the CEO and Bill Ingle, a senior analyst, at Beecham Research. Figure 1 shows these parts and, although not all

Read more

CAT-M1 vs NB-IoT – examining the real differences

Posted on: June 21, 2021

As industry players look to provide the next generation of IoT connectivity, two different standards have emerged under release 13 of 3GPP – CAT-M1 and NB-IoT.

Read more

IoT and home automation: What does the future hold?

Posted on: June 10, 2020

Once a dream, home automation using iot is slowly but steadily becoming a part of daily lives around the world. In fact, it is believed that the global market for smart home automation will reach $40 billion by 2020.

Read more

5 challenges still facing the Internet of Things

Posted on: June 3, 2020

The Internet of Things (IoT) has quickly become a huge part of how people live, communicate and do business. All around the world, web-enabled devices are turning our world into a more switched-on place to live.

Read more