Energy management software

Leslah Garland 12 January 2023  

ABB has announced that this year it will integrate its innovative ABB Ability OPTIMAX energy management software solution into the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, helping to maximise the energy efficiency of the racing series’ at-track operations.

Season 9 of the all-electric racing series, of which ABB is official charging partner, begins on January 14th 2023 in Mexico City, where ABB Ability OPTIMAX will be used in a live racing environment. Following successful trials during Season 8, ABB Ability OPTIMAX will allow the championship’s engineers to monitor and analyse total race-specific energy output, helping drive more efficient usage.

Up to 14 metering boxes will be located at host venues, collecting data on how much electrical power (kilowatts) is being used by teams and other race partners at that moment and how much electricity (kilowatt hours) is consumed over any given time period. This information will be relayed back to race control via the Microsoft Azure cloud. Total consumption across entire E-Prix sites will also be monitored, encompassing operations including the TV broadcast suite, E-Village fan zone, media center, catering facilities, the paddock and the teams’ pit garages.

Daniela Lužanin, Head of the ABB Formula E partnership, said: “For ABB, the partnership with Formula E has always been more than a race, it is a test bed for innovative technologies, and we aim to continue to bring more of our solutions to the series. Energy efficiency is key to reducing emissions and meeting sustainability targets and ABB Ability OPTIMAX will be fully implemented this season to help improve this within the Championship.”

The varied street circuits used by Formula E present the added challenge of having to use a range of power sources across different locations. ABB Ability OPTIMAX helps address this with a central dashboard which gives live visibility of all power at the racetrack, enabling Formula E’s technical teams to make all on-site activity more efficient, regardless of the power source.

Jamie Reigle, CEO of Formula E, said: “As the first sport to be certified as net-zero carbon since inception, we are always looking for more ways to make the series as sustainable as possible. With ABB Ability OPTIMAX we are able to better monitor our energy consumption and see where potential savings could be made.“