Ericsson and Vodafone pioneer 5G standlaone for industrial use cases

Ericsson and Vodafone have joined forces to deploy a 5G Standalone mobile private network in a heavy industry environment at the CIMPOR production center in Alhandra, Portugal, the oldest cement plant in the world in continued operation for 130 years on the same site.

This project integrates the most advanced communication and automation technologies into the production process and represents the first 5G standalone private network in the country.

This infrastructure enables CIMPOR to monitor and maintain its assets even more efficiently, helping to mitigate risks, reduce its environmental footprint and optimize costs.

The new network is already supporting the operation of the first use cases that will boost the digitalization of the Alhandra plant. These include:

• Machine health monitoring — Maintenance with 10000 IoT sensors monitoring vibration, temperature, noise, rotational speed anomalies, and so on, to improve reliability, run-time and productivity and in turn, decrease costs in spare parts, labor and inventory.
• Innovative inspection with drones — Fast, accurate and safe with 5G (indoor heavy-duty drones to do instant and safe inspections) shortening stoppage periods, costs and improving Health and Safety conditions.
• Smart glasses — Remote advanced support and effective field works (handsfree control system with AI-powered voice recognition) securing business continuity and a safer environment for employees.
• HD and wireless cameras — Monitoring without any dead-zone (enabling monitor operation in real-time and preventively detecting equipment failures).
• Potentials with 5G MPN — Digitalization aids decarbonization. All these use cases also have indirect impacts on decarbonization as, in tis case, only 1% of consolidated saving means nearly 140,000 tons of CO2 reduction per year, which equals to annual absorption of 6.5 million trees.
• The virtual visualization of infrastructures from a digital twin — digital representation of the facilities.

In addition to these use cases, the possibilities created by this network enable the full implementation of Industry 4.0 features, such as remote monitoring of equipment, the operation of autonomous devices and the permanent monitoring of workers during the performance of demanding tasks, using alarms.

Ericsson Private 5G delivers secure, high-speed 5G connectivity tailored to industrial environments, enabling seamless integration with IT systems and plays a pivotal role in accelerating CIMPOR’s digital transformation. Using Ericsson Private 5G’s scalability, cloud-based management and enhanced data security, CIMPOR is able to start small and expand the network as needed. This made it a key enabler for pioneering 5G standalone use case.

Ericsson radio access network (RAN) and Core systems such Multi-Operator Core Network  (MOCN)  were incorporated into the project. This enabled Vodafone and CIMPOR to efficiently share radio network infrastructure while ensuring dedicated, optimized radio resources and network performance for their industrial use cases.

The 5G SA private network will continue to contribute to more agile operations at a lower cost and quicker, more informed decision-making in one of the main industrial conglomerates in Portugal. In the coming months, two similar systems will be installed at different CIMPOR plants, continuing the cement industry’s digital transformation strategy. The modernization of CIMPOR’s operations, through the implementation of state-of-the-art technology, reinforces its position as a leader in the market, ensuring a more efficient and competitive future.

Image: Ericsson and Vodafone collaborate to deploy a 5G Standalone mobile private network at CIMPOR’s cement plant in Portugal.