Group photo from the 2nd Energy Efficiency Network (EEN) Workshop

On 16 December 2025, the Thai-German Energy Dialogue (TGED), in collaboration with the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), convened the 2nd Energy Efficiency Network (EEN) Workshop. This event built upon the ongoing progress of Thailand’s pilot energy efficiency network initiatives.

The workshop brought together EEN members and German technology providers to exchange best practices for elevating industrial energy efficiency. The EEN serves as a voluntary cooperation platform, encouraging participating companies to set collective goals, develop strategic plans and implement energy-saving measures based on empirical data and expert consultation. This network model was inspired by Germany’s successful systematic approach, where hundreds of EENs have been established nationwide, involving thousands of participating companies.

Company representatives brainstorming and discussing how to apply newly-learned insights into their operations

The workshop opened with presentations of technology solutions by German providers Bosch, GEA and FESTO, focusing on three major industrial energy-use areas: heating and steam, refrigeration and cooling, and compressed air systems. The speakers shared real-world examples demonstrating that significant energy savings could be achieved through system optimisation, digital monitoring and improved control strategies. The solutions presented ranged from high-efficiency boilers and heat-recovery systems to advanced refrigeration technologies and smart compressed-air management using sensors and automation. These exchanges enabled participating companies to explore how proven technologies could be adapted to their specific operational contexts.

GEA and other technology solution providers offer direct consultation to company representatives in a roundtable setting

The seminar by Philipp Poferl from Arqum GmbH, focused on data collection and analysis for energy management, based on ISO 50001 principles. Poferl explained how energy management systems enable continuous improvementbeyond one-off energy audits. Participants also gained insights into identifying significant energy uses, defining meaningful energy performance indicators and normalising data against influencing factors such as production levels and temperature. Companies were encouraged to adopt data-driven approaches to track performance trends, detect deviations and quantify real efficiency gains rather than focusing solely on absolute energy consumption.

In the afternoon network brainstorming session, participants discussed how the technical insights from the workshop could be translated into tailored company-level action plans, measurable energy-saving targets and collective initiatives within their organisations. The interactive format helped identify both quick wins and longer-term improvement strategies, and facilitated direct consultation with technology solution providers.

FESTO advising participating companies on monitoring and optimising compressed air systems

The workshop also highlighted the importance of evaluating the total cost of ownership (TCO) in investment decisions. For greenfield projects, or new developments built from scratch, investing in high-efficiency technology pays off through superior long-term savings and sustainability. By contrast, brownfield projects involve upgrading existing facilities. These offer ‘quick wins’ for efficiency through low-cost measures like fixing leaks, reducing system losses and recovering waste heat.

The Thai-German Energy Dialogue (TGED), funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of Germany (BMWE) and implemented by GIZ, is part of Germany’s efforts to promote the transition towards renewable energy internationally. The partnerships combine governmental dialogues with technical exchange with relevance for concrete steps towards improving energy efficiency in the private sector.