LIVE FROM MWC21 LOS ANGELES: Laxmi Akkaraju, SVP strategy at industrial software company Cognite (pictured), discussed a Norwegian manufacturing park which is employing 5G, IoT and AI to fully automate its logistics chain.

Telenor deployed a 5G network in the industrial park on Heroya, a peninsula.

One of the companies in the park is Yara Porsgrunn, which operates a brace of factories producing ammonia, nitric acid, calcium nitrate and fertiliser. The company collects data from sensors and meters attached to its equipment.

“AI algorithms analyse data and build live and updated digital twin models”, Akkaraju explained. “These digital twins are used to manage the full industrial complex in the most efficient way possible and to abate emissions across the entire value chain.”

Akkaraju noted the data processing abilities mean ammonia production is carbon neutral.

“My bet is the industrial park at Heroyo will be one of the first to reach net zero”, Akkaraju predicted.

The deployment is part of a European Union project to test 5G in real-world enterprise settings.