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Industries related to automotive manufacturing and its supply chain play a key role in leaving a carbon footprint during an automobile's life cycle. Per the report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in March, 2008 [1], “motor vehicle industry in the U.S. spends about $3.6 billion on energy annually.” The proposed research will focus on energy savings opportunities in automotive manufacturing and its supplier network. The US Department of Energy (DOE) funds 24 Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC) throughout the U.S. that conduct energy assessments at many of these facilities. The results of these assessments are summarized in a database maintained by Rutgers University which acts as the central management body for all the IACs. This research will present key concepts summarized from this database.

This research is based on the energy saving opportunities in compressed air systems in seven manufacturing facilities in the automotive supply chain, located in the United States. These plants received compressed air Energy Saving Assessments (ESA) from the US Department of Energy (US DOE)/Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) as a part of the Save Energy Now (SEN) initiative. Data logging equipment were used to monitor the compressed air system. US DOE ITP BestPractices software tools AIRMaster+ and LogTool [Web: Best Practices Software Tools] and other spreadsheet tools were used to develop energy efficiency measures. The most prominent energy efficiency measures were found with respect to installation of automatic sequencers, reducing compressed air leaks, improving end use efficiency, and reducing the compressed air system pressure. Few other interesting energy efficiency measures are also discussed.

Automotive industries in the US and around the world have enormous impact on the economy of each country. Not just the major vehicle manufacturer, but all the other companies in the supply chain are equally important. This was evident with the earthquake and Tsunami that happened in March 2011. Because of the massive destruction at suppliers' facilities, the automakers in the US and other countries struggled to get the necessary parts and supplies. This created a ripple effect throughout the world and led to the closure of several automakers' facilities for a long time. Thus, the automotive supply chains are as important as the main automotive manufacturing facilities. Since these suppliers produce a lot of parts and supplies, the corresponding energy usage is also significant. The current research is focused on compressed air and process heating system analysis at one of the automotive parts manufacturer in Mexico.