IR Power has unveiled a breakthrough solution to tackle one of industry’s most overlooked problems, the enormous amount of energy wasted when factory machines slow down. The company’s plug-and-play system helps manufacturers achieve significant energy savings through an innovative rental model, meaning no upfront cost and payment only from verified savings.
In modern factories, large machines are constantly speeding up and slowing down, from automotive presses and conveyor systems to mixing and milling equipment. Each time these machines decelerate, they generate electricity that is normally burned off as heat.
IR Power’s technology captures this lost energy and feeds it back into the factory’s power grid, much like regenerative braking in electric vehicles.
On large automotive press lines where clustered machines run in six-second cycles, the solution can recover 10–20% of total electricity consumption, translating to £50,000–£100,000 in annual savings per machine cluster at current UK energy prices.
Breaking the Barriers to Adoption
While regenerative energy recovery isn’t new, it has historically struggled to scale due to a broken business and engineering model.
Traditional systems required costly custom integration, involving complex electrical work, modified drives, long installation windows, and production interruptions, making them uneconomical when electricity cost £50/MWh.
Today, with energy prices between £100–150/MWh and manufacturers under strict net-zero mandates, the economics have flipped and IR Power’s redesigned system and business model make adoption simpler, faster, and financially risk-free.
The IR Power Advantage
IR Power’s new platform eliminates cost and complexity through a focus on standardisation, simplicity, and flexibility:
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Standardised product range: Three off?the?shelf system sizes replace expensive bespoke engineering, cutting upfront costs by £30–40k.
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Plug-and-play installation: Connects to existing machines within hours — no equipment modifications, no downtime.
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Rental model: Completely zero-capex approach — customers pay nothing upfront and only share proven savings. If the system doesn’t deliver, there’s no cost.
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Equipment-agnostic:Â Works with any motor or drive manufacturer and supports multi?machine, site?wide optimisation.
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Fail-safe operation: When braking energy exceeds capacity, excess routes safely to existing resistors, enabling uninterrupted production — unlike competing systems that shut down under overload.
Perfect Timing for Net-Zero Manufacturing
As industrial power prices rise and sustainability mandates tighten, manufacturers face mounting pressure to reduce both energy costs and emissions. With machinery that often remains in operation for decades and retrofits far cheaper than full system upgrades, IR Power’s approach delivers immediate impact.
Because the rental model is treated as operating expenditure rather than capital investment, it removes budget barriers and aligns incentives seamlessly: IR Power only earns when its clients save energy.
Scaling Up Impact
IR Power will begin commercial deployments in 2026, initially focusing on press lines in automotive and construction materials manufacturing. The company’s pilot programs target diverse sectors to validate the technology in different industrial settings before scaling globally.
The opportunity is massive, thousands of machines across automotive, construction, food processing, and heavy industry can benefit from this retrofit approach to energy recovery.
By targeting equipment with frequent start/stop or variable speed cycles, where braking energy is most consistent, IR Power aims to unlock a new era of industrial efficiency – one that’s profitable, practical, and sustainable.
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