Akila Jotun Energy Management: AI-Driven Platform Sets New Global Benchmark for Industrial Efficiency and Scope 1/2 Optimization
The global industrial sector faces an unprecedented dual mandate: achieve radical operational efficiency while simultaneously meeting stringent sustainability targets. For multinational giants operating sprawling manufacturing networks, this challenge is complicated by disparate data systems, varied regulatory environments, and the sheer complexity of scale.
Marking a definitive response to this challenge, Akila—a leader in AI-driven energy intelligence—is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Jotun Group, the Norwegian global paints and coatings manufacturer operating in over 100 countries.
The Akila Jotun Energy Management program represents one of the most significant global energy-intelligence initiatives undertaken by Akila to date. It is a massive deployment of a unified, AI-driven energy layer across Jotun's worldwide manufacturing portfolio, encompassing extensive industrial sites across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
This project signals a crucial shift in industrial strategy. It moves beyond passive monitoring and positions Jotun to leverage advanced analytics, portfolio-wide benchmarking, and automated optimization to achieve measurable efficiency gains, ultimately securing a clear pathway toward sustainability goals, particularly in Scopes 1 and 2 emissions tracking.
The Global Mandate: Why Jotun Needs Akila's AI Energy Management
Jotun Group’s operational complexity—a portfolio spread across 26 countries and operating in highly specialized chemical manufacturing—demands an intelligence solution that is robust, flexible, and capable of operating universally. Without a unified system, managing energy in such a diverse environment leads to vast inefficiencies and unquantified waste.
The Challenge of Scale: Unifying Disparate Data Across 26 Countries
The first major hurdle in any global industrial operation is data centralization. Jotun’s facilities utilize a myriad of different local metering and control systems installed over decades. These systems often speak different "languages," making cross-regional comparison and optimization impossible.
The Akila Jotun Energy Management program addresses this by establishing a unified data model. Akila's AI energy platform will integrate seamlessly with Jotun's existing metering and control infrastructure, while simultaneously working to integrate new sensors and gateways where data collection is insufficient.
This massive integration effort ensures that all data—whether from existing meters or supplemental sources—is standardized, cleaned, and centralized within a single platform. This unified approach is the only way operational teams can gain consistent, portfolio-wide intelligence to drive targeted improvements.
Meeting Rigorous Requirements: Safety, Technical Integrity, and Collaboration
The paints and coatings industry involves complex chemical processes, requiring adherence to stringent safety and technical protocols. Jotun’s selection of Akila was not taken lightly, reflecting a demanding procurement process.
Trine Finnevolden, Group Technical Director HSEQ at Jotun, highlighted this factor: "We selected Akila because their platform met our rigorous technical and safety requirements and demonstrated the transparency and collaboration we value."
This underscores the B2B necessity that any AI solution deployed in a global manufacturing environment must not only be effective but also meet non-negotiable safety requirements. The platform’s ability to handle operational insight alongside technical integrity was a defining factor in securing the partnership.
The "Energy Intelligence Layer": Deconstructing the Akila Platform’s Technical Approach
The core value delivered by Akila is the transformation of raw utility data into an energy-intelligence layer that drives operational excellence. This is the difference between simply knowing you use energy and knowing why, where, and when you waste it.
The Unified Data Model: Integrating Systems for Comprehensive Monitoring
The platform provides comprehensive monitoring across all critical production assets and utilities, giving Jotun a granular understanding of energy flow:
- Electricity and Energy Quality: Monitoring power factor, harmonics, and consumption for proactive load management.
- HVAC Performance: Optimizing climate control systems crucial for chemical stability and energy conservation.
- Compressed Air: Compressed air systems are notorious energy hogs; the platform monitors pressure, leaks, and usage efficiency.
- Natural Gas and Other Utilities: Tracking usage for boilers, heating, and thermal processes.
Beyond Monitoring: Detecting Anomalies and Significant Energy Users (SEUs) at Scale
Traditional systems simply track consumption month-over-month. Akila's platform moves far beyond this. It leverages sophisticated AI algorithms to:
- Detect Anomalies Early and at Scale: The system learns the normal consumption patterns of each asset (a specific pump, a batch reactor) and instantly flags deviations. For instance, an unexpected spike in compressed air usage at 3 AM is not just recorded; it is immediately flagged as a potential leak or malfunction.
- Identify Significant Energy Users (SEUs): The platform precisely identifies which assets or processes are the most demanding, allowing engineers to target optimization efforts where they will have the greatest impact.
- Benchmarking and Optimization Across Regions and Processes: By standardizing data from a factory in Saudi Arabia and a factory in Spain, the platform can compare the energy efficiency of identical processes. This allows Jotun to identify and propagate global best practices, ensuring a "rising tide" of efficiency across the entire portfolio.
Driving Actionable Impact: AI and the 3–5% Measurable Savings Guarantee
For Jotun’s CFO and technical directors, the ultimate success of the Akila Jotun Energy Management program rests on measurable financial return. The commitment is to rapidly identify and realize savings.
Rapid ROI: Delivering Actionable Insight Within the First Three Months
A key requirement of the program is speed. Akila is committed to providing actionable insight within the first three months of deployment. This ensures that operational teams do not face long lag times waiting for results. Instead, they receive immediate, high-impact opportunities that allow them to:
- Identify Savings Opportunities Quickly: Flagging immediate, obvious waste (like leaving HVAC running unnecessarily).
- Apply Corrective Actions: Deploying targeted fixes based on the intelligence, ensuring a rapid return on investment.
AI-Driven Analytics: Deviation Detection and Automated Baseline Comparison
This is the most advanced function of the platform and the reason the "AI" component is essential. The Akila system does not rely on static comparison metrics. It applies advanced analytics for:
- Automated Baseline Comparison: The platform establishes a dynamic "ideal baseline" for every machine based on its operating condition, production volume, and environmental factors. It knows exactly how much energy a compressor should use to achieve a certain output.
- Deviation Detection: If a facility uses 10% more energy than the ideal baseline for the same output, the AI flags the deviation, leading to precise troubleshooting.
- Actionable Optimization Recommendations: The platform doesn't just issue a warning; it provides optimization recommendations, turning complex data into simple, executable tasks for the operational team.
The Financial Imperative: Replicating and Improving 3–5% Energy Savings
The business case is anchored in quantifiable savings. Historically, similar deployments have generated measurable savings of 3–5%. Replicating and improving this percentage across Jotun's massive, global utility bill represents an enormous financial return that pays for the system many times over. The Akila Jotun Energy Management program is a direct line to significant cost reductions, making efficiency the ultimate driver of corporate profitability.
ESG Leadership: Reducing Waste and Tracking Carbon Footprints (Scope 1/2)
In the 2026 industrial landscape, sustainability is inseparable from profitability. The Akila Jotun Energy Management project is designed to integrate energy efficiency directly into Jotun’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy.
Mastering Scope 1 and 2 Emissions Tracking
The platform provides a critical function for global ESG compliance: the ability to accurately track carbon footprints and align decisions with sustainability targets, specifically focusing on Scopes 1 and 2 emissions.
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by Jotun (e.g., natural gas combustion in boilers, vehicle fleets).
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy (e.g., electricity).
By unifying data across 26 countries, the platform gives Jotun the standardized, audited data necessary to meet increasingly rigorous international reporting mandates and internal decarbonization goals. This unified measurement is key to managing risk and maintaining ESG credibility.
Aligning Operational Decisions with Sustainability Targets
The platform transforms sustainability from a compliance reporting function into a daily operational tool. The optimization recommendations provided by the AI are inherently dual-purpose: they reduce energy waste (financial return) and directly reduce emissions (environmental return). This synergy ensures that every decision made by the operational team is automatically aligned with the company’s broader sustainability targets.
Akila's Portfolio-Level Vision: Setting a New Benchmark for Industrial Excellence
For Akila, the partnership with Jotun at this scale is a defining moment, validating the foundational design of the platform.
Philippe Obry, Vice President, Akila, stressed the significance: "This is exactly what the Akila platform was built for — centralizing industrial data at global portfolio level to unlock advanced analytics, benchmarking and a clear pathway toward AI-driven optimization and asset performance."
The Akila Jotun Energy Management collaboration sets a new precedent for AI-led energy management across manufacturing portfolios. It establishes a benchmark that will inevitably be followed by peers in the chemical, coatings, and heavy industrial sectors, proving that sophisticated AI intelligence is now the essential tool for achieving true operational excellence and sustainable industrial growth in the global marketplace.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What is the primary goal of the Akila Jotun Energy Management partnership? A: The primary goal is to deploy Akila’s AI-driven energy platform across Jotun’s worldwide manufacturing portfolio to centralize data, detect waste and anomalies, and drive measurable energy savings, typically aiming for 3–5% cost reduction and improved Scope 1 and 2 emissions tracking.
Q2: What types of energy consumption will the Akila platform monitor for Jotun? A: The platform will monitor critical utilities essential for manufacturing processes, including electricity, HVAC performance, compressed air, natural gas, and energy quality across production assets in various facilities.
Q3: How quickly will Jotun see results from the Akila platform deployment? A: Rapid deployment is central to the program, with Akila aiming to deliver actionable insight within the first three months, allowing Jotun’s operational teams to quickly identify immediate savings opportunities and apply corrective actions.
Q4: What specific AI function helps identify energy waste? A: The platform utilizes AI-driven analytics for deviation detection and automated baseline comparison. This allows the system to compare real-time consumption against an ideal, optimized baseline for a specific process, instantly flagging unnecessary waste and providing targeted optimization recommendations.
Q5: What are Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and why are they tracked in this program? A: Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by Jotun (e.g., burning natural gas). Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity. Tracking these scopes is essential for companies like Jotun to meet global ESG reporting mandates and demonstrate accountability for their operational carbon footprint.
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