In the face of the global wave of green supply, Asia Cement Corporation has been developing low-carbon process technologies in the hope of contributing to environmental sustainability. However, in addition to mining and production, energy saving and carbon reduction in cement transportation should not be overlooked.
Therefore, Asia Cement Corporation announced on May the 12th that it has completed a full shore power project for cement vessels. In other words, Asia Cement Corporation’s cement carriers will no longer use generators on board to supply electricity while berthing at port, but will instead use the Taipower power supply onshore. This will reduce the consumption of fuel, save over 1,474 tonnes of fuel per year and effectively reduce 5,329 tonnes of CO2 emissions, which is the very first move for the cement industry in Taiwan.
Asia Cement Corporation currently has four cement carriers responsible for transporting cement produced by the Hualien plant to various ports of Taiwan and to overseas markets. In the past, the cement carriers have mainly used fuel oil to generate electricity for the various needs on board, which resulted in noise and air pollution. In order to reduce the impact on the sea, the ecology and the environment, Asia Cement Corporation has completed the two-phase shore power project in the ports of Kaohsiung, Taichung, Keelung and Hualien and on the four cement carriers, with a total investment of NT$37.39 million.
According to Asia Cement Corporation, the full shore power project is not only in line with the government’s concept of promoting green harbours, but is also in line with the global trend of port transformation. The seemingly simple theory, however, involves issues such as the tidal range in the harbour, the area of the quay, and the different design specifications for different vessels. The schedule of each vessel and weather factors has to be taken into consideration as well. All of this made the construction extremely difficult. Despite this, the team responsible for the project overcame all challenges. The design, supervision and commissioning were all developed in-house, without any need to seek help from overseas manufacturers. Thanks to this technological independence, Asia Cement Corporation was able to continue to carry out full shore power projects on cement vessels even during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak without being affected.
Asia Cement Corporation also explained that its shore power engineering system has been proven to not only reduce air pollution emissions such as carbon dioxide, sulphides and nitrogen oxides, but also significantly improve the unloading efficiency of cement carriers, reducing the unloading time by 50%. In addition, the complete shutdown of the generators will reduce the wear and tear on the equipment, extend its service life, and optimise manpower resources by redirecting the saved operational manpower to other maintenance tasks. Asia Cement Corporation’s unique technological capability is not only applicable to all Asia Cement Corporation’s cement carriers, but can also be extended to other maritime operators in the future, which is of great significance in helping to create a low carbon green port.
Asia Cement Corporation’s General Plant Manager, Chang Tzu-Pong, highlighted that in April this year, Asia Cement Corporation passed the rigorous international Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) review and became the fourth cement company in the world to set a carbon reduction target, specifically responding to the global climate control well-below 2°C. Now Asia Cement Corporation is the first cement company to complete the installation of a shore power system for cement carriers. Asia Cement Corporation is not only aiming to be a model of energy efficiency in the industry, but also to reverse the stereotype of the cement industry and transform it into an environmentally friendly green industry.
