Monday, 22 April 2013 11:01

NEPIC nets €2m industrial parks project

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NEPIC nets €2m industrial parks projectThe North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) has been appointed to manage a €2-million EU-wide project aimed at identifying new approached to developing sustainable industrial parks.

For the Low Carbon Industrial Manufacturing Parks (LOCIMAP) project, NEPIC will seek to advance the structure of industry parks, using best practice benchmarks from leading parks.

The EU-funded project will seek opportunities to improve energy and resource efficiency and the reduction of CO2 emissions. This includes integrating manufacturing complexes to allow them to operate at increased efficiency of energy and material use.

The project team, led by Mark Lewis, technical manager of NEPIC will review of a range of industrial processes representing a wide spectrum of energy sources and demands.

The multinational LOCIMAP project team will identify carbon targets for future manufacturing by studying areas of manufacturing integration and symbiosis.

By taking an holistic view of the dynamics of site and park operation the team hopes to identify new supply chain links needed to optimise performance.

NEPIC has already identified situations within its own Cluster of industries where such thinking could be beneficial to both the industries concerned and to the climate change agenda.

“Clustering of businesses in industrial parks is nothing new, but in most instances not enough thought has been put into maximising the efficiency of all the operations on a particular park," said Stan Higgins CEO of NEPIC.

“For example it is most usual that a park with 20 industrial units may have 20 steam raising boilers, 20 heating systems 20 electrical sub stations, 20 warehouses, 20 security systems and so on, Higgins explained.

“When you see it written down like this the opportunities for improved efficiency and symbiosis become obvious. Like most good ideas this is not rocket science, the best results often come from simple rational thinking and shared best practice rather than from new inventions.

“This EU funded project should result in simple practical advice that will enable the establishment of more sustainable industries in the future.”

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