Compressors are the unsung workhorses of food and beverage production, but the motors powering them are where energy gains are won or lost. Daniel Eberli, Global Business Line Manager at ABB, explores why motor selection matters more than most operators realize.

Food and beverage manufacturing is an industry that never really switches off. Refrigeration runs overnight, bakery lines run around the clock, and production never pauses for long, if at all. That continuity is a mark of a well-run operation, but it comes at an energy cost that is difficult to ignore. For operators looking to stay resilient and competitive, finding ways to reduce energy usage without sacrificing output has never been more important.

Compressed air and refrigeration systems play a significant role in this challenge. Compressors are among the most energy-intensive assets on any food and beverage site, and compressed air systems alone account for around 10% of all industrial electricity consumption globally. For operators managing large-scale production and cold chain infrastructure, that is an energy burden that has a direct impact on competitiveness. What many overlook, however, is where the bulk of that energy actually goes – and what can be done about it.

The motor makes the difference

When energy consumption becomes a concern, the instinct is to look at the compressor itself. But the motor behind it often tells a more important story. Across a typical 20-year service life, the energy used by a motor represents roughly 97% of total cost of ownership. The original purchase price accounts for around 2%. In that context, motor selection stops being a procurement formality and becomes one of the most consequential decisions a site engineer or project manager can make.

Efficiency class matters here. The difference between every motor efficiency level may look modest on a specification sheet, but over the operational lifetime of a refrigeration compressor running continuously, the gap in energy consumed is substantial. Pair a high-efficiency motor with a variable speed drive (VSD), and the savings compound further. VSDs allow the motor to operate only at the speed the application demands, rather than running flat-out regardless of load. In refrigeration systems where cooling requirements fluctuate with production schedules, ambient temperature, and seasonal demand, that level of control translates directly into reduced energy consumption.

Reliability is another piece of the puzzle. Industrial refrigeration compressors operate under sustained mechanical stress, and heat is their enemy. Motors running at lower temperatures put less strain on bearings and windings, extending service intervals and reducing the risk of unplanned downtime. In food and beverage environments – where a refrigeration failure can mean spoiled product, missed distribution windows, and serious financial loss – that thermal advantage translates directly into the resilience and competitiveness that operators are working hard to protect.

Coop’s logistics centre: efficiency at industrial scale

The scale of what is achievable with the right motor and drive technology is proven by Coop’s logistics centre in Schafisheim, Switzerland. The facility is one of the largest buildings in the country, housing Switzerland’s biggest bakery and patisserie alongside national and regional distribution operations for frozen, fresh, and ambient products. The bakery produces around 60,000 tons of baked goods per year, and cooling is fundamental to operations at this scale. The site runs four refrigeration systems with a combined cooling capacity of 8 MW – roughly equivalent to 40,000 domestic refrigerators operating simultaneously.

ABB IE4 motors and VSDs run the compressors within the refrigeration circuits, which form part of a wider system designed and tailored to meet Coop’s specific operational requirements. When the system was commissioned in 2016, IE4 motors represented best-in-class efficiency technology for this application. They deliver up to 97% efficiency at full load, and the VSDs ensure that motor speed is continuously adjusted to match actual cooling demand, avoiding the energy waste associated with fixed-speed operation.

Since commissioning, the systems have run like clockwork. The wider logistics center, supported by the efficiencies embedded across its systems, has already cut CO₂ emissions by more than 10,000 tons per year. That’s the equivalent of removing nearly 2,000 cars from the road annually.

A portfolio built for compressor performance

The Coop project is one one example of what the right motor technology can deliver – but ABB’s wide portfolio spans a range of motors, each suited to the specific demands of different compressor applications.

For operators where energy efficiency and resilience are the primary objectives, ABB’s synchronous reluctance (SynRM) motors push performance even further. Available at IE6 Hyper-Efficiency class, they represent a real step up in energy performance. On a 110 kW application running at 75% average load, upgrading from an IE4 induction motor to an IE6 SynRM and VSD package delivers over €51,000 in energy savings and avoids more than 92,000 kg of CO₂ over 20 years, with payback achieved in around eight months. Running significantly cooler than lower-efficiency induction motors, they also lower the risk of unexpected downtime. A refrigeration failure carries serious consequences, so that reliability advantage is as valuable as the energy savings themselves.

Where space or thermal management is a constraint, liquid-cooled motors circulate coolant through channels around the motor to remove heat more efficiently than air-cooled alternatives. This increase in cooling efficiency allows for a significantly smaller footprint and requires no cooling fans. The latter carries particular weight in food and beverage environments where airborne contamination must be controlled.

For indoor industrial environments, ABB’s IP23 open drip proof (ODP) motors deliver higher power density than conventional enclosed designs – resulting in the dual advantage of more output per frame size and a reduced footprint. Their open-ventilated construction allows cooling air to flow directly over the windings, improving heat dissipation without the need for auxiliary cooling systems. The motor is a strong fit for industrial refrigeration compressors, where consistent performance and thermal stability are critical.

Whatever the application, selecting the right motor is the most direct route to tangible energy savings and best-in-class reliability. In an industry where production never really stops, and where energy costs have a direct bearing on competitiveness, that decision is less a nice-to-have and more a commercial necessity.

Getting the selection right

The Coop project underlines a principle that applies across food and beverage operations of all sizes: the performance of a compressor system is inseparable from the performance of the motor and drive package behind it. For food and beverage operators navigating volatile energy costs, unpredictable supply chains, and the relentless demands of continuous production, specifying the right motor for each compressor application is one of the most direct routes to staying resilient and competitive. Getting it right is well worth the attention.

When pressure builds, we outrun. It’s more than a promise — it’s 140 years of engineering excellence, a motor portfolio built to outperform, and a global network standing behind every deployment. In compressor applications that keep the world moving, ABB ensures operators always have the right solution — deployed with confidence and resilience.