The digital service platform gives Eramet better control of environmental data

To ensure that society is constantly moving towards a more sustainable state, new and tougher requirements are continuously being placed on the implementation, documentation, and reporting of environmental considerations. Transparency is an important part of the green shift.

Hence, it can be stated that the collection and analysis of data are vital components in a climate-neutral recipe for success. Being able to measure the effectiveness of environmental measures is, after all, a crucial requirement for achieving the goal of zero emissions in the value chain.

Eramet Norway is part of the manganese business of the French group Eramet, which concentrates its activities on mining and metallurgical industry. They are a major international player in the business areas of special steel, manganese, and nickel.

The Group has developed its own policy for sustainable development, where it undertakes, among other things, to comply with the Paris Agreement. The company is entitled to report on several parameters in environmental accounts. In this context, Eramet has engaged Evidi to build a digital service platform.

Among other things, the service platform facilitates the collection of data from various sensors and applications, and compiles these in a more transparent form. This gives Eramet better conditions for documenting and analysing the effects of its environmental work, says Mette.

This work has provided immense value, says Bjørn André Sjøboden, ERP Responsible at Eramet Norway.

The digital service platform allows us to connect all our data, events, and systems together. This enables powerful, accurate, consistent, and controlled reporting of, among other things, our environmental footprint. We may obtain data from all relevant sources, both internal and external. We then compile them to ensure continuous monitoring, display of status and reporting of our operations, he says.

Eramet Norway produces 500,000 tonnes of manganese alloys annually. Almost all manganese produced is used in steel. The manganese has the same impact on steel as calcium has on our bones; It makes the steel stronger, harder, and more durable.

It is a comprehensive cycle that ultimately allows the ore to be used in steel structures. The digital service platform allows Eramet Norway to monitor emissions into air and water, and other relevant information throughout the process.

It is one thing to collect all the data, but another thing is what you can do with it. They have sensors and IoT devices that collect data throughout the entire cycle, which allows them to measure emissions of gases and particles, power consumption, quality of the cleaning process and so on. The service platform gives Eramet access to real-time environmental data and enables them to take a deep dive into the statistics to identify potential for improvement and development over time. When the information is easier to interpret, it's easier to use it for something productive, says Mette.

Providing our operations personnel with environmental data from multiple systems and sources together, and at the right time, allows them to optimize their operations to make it more environmentally friendly. The ability to connect data and systems gives us, among other things, an overview of how our processes affect the environment in and around our facilities. We get good control of the status of air and water qualities, says Bjørn André.