Chemical enterprises have a large demand for green electricity, how to reduce procurement costs?
Aerial view of Shanghai Chemical Industry Park. Photo courtesy of the park
The chemical industry is a "major carbon emitter" and the "main battlefield" for carbon reduction in the future, and it is necessary to balance green development and economic benefits. The green and low-carbon development of SCIP is not only for transformation and upgrading, but also to better adapt to future industrial development.
SCIP is China's first state-level development zone dominated by petrochemical industry. As a national green park, a total of 5 enterprises in SCIP have been rated as national green factories, 2 enterprises have been rated as municipal green factories, and 2 enterprises have been rated as national green products.
Recently, the joint research team of The Paper and Shanghai Institute of Development Strategy "Approaching Zero Carbon" visited SCIP to conduct research. The circular economy industrial chain established in the park left a deep impression on the research group. At present, the products of the previous link are the raw materials of the next link, and the waste gas of the previous link is the heat source of the next link, and the correlation degree of products in the park has reached more than 80%.
In the process of green and low-carbon development, what are the challenges faced by chemical enterprises, and what are the problems to be solved? As a national green park, what development experience can SCIP learn from?
Chemical parks integrate the "genes" of circular economy
For chemical parks, green and low-carbon development is inseparable from two aspects. First, in the development and construction, adhere to the concept of sustainability and the "3R" concept of focusing on the circular economy - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; The second is to put forward higher standards and requirements for the enterprises and projects introduced.
SCIP provides a model in the circular economy. The park has established a circular economy industrial chain to maximize the effective use of resources and reduce carbon emissions. The mutual supply and sharing of chemical raw materials, intermediates, products and wastes between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain has been formed, so as to realize that the products of the previous link are the raw materials of the next link, and the waste gas of the previous link is the heat source of the next link, and the product correlation degree is more than 80%.
Heat recovery project at Covestro's integrated production site in Shanghai. Courtesy of Covestro
In terms of the supply and demand of circular economy, SCIP is to open up the blocking points from upstream products to downstream raw materials in the production chain, and transform "waste" into "raw materials" through point-to-point pilots. For example, waste sulfuric acid is regenerated into industrial sulfuric acid through pipelines, which is used as raw materials for upstream enterprises; The second is to establish a communication mechanism for the "double carbon" work between the park and the enterprise, in which the circular economy promotion group is mainly responsible for understanding the supply of by-products and waste of the enterprises in the park, and docking with enterprises with relevant needs. The park actively serves enterprises and obtains information through multiple channels such as existing working mechanisms and working groups to help enterprises solve problems.
Taking wastewater treatment as an example, under the "integrated" centralized treatment mode of environmental management in the park, the wastewater with good biodegradability discharged by the enterprise can be directly used as a carbon source, which greatly reduces the amount of artificial carbon source while realizing the resource utilization of sewage. Calculating the direct carbon emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from the sewage treatment plants in the park and the indirect carbon emissions caused by electricity consumption and drug consumption, compared with the self-built sewage treatment facilities of enterprises, the annual carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by more than 30% under the integrated mode.
Chemical companies have an urgent demand for green electricity
Natural gas and purchased electricity dominate the energy mix of SCIP, so there is a need for stable energy supply and stable prices. Enterprises in the park have an urgent need to increase the proportion of green electricity, and can even accept a certain degree of green power premium. To this end, on the one hand, the park uses idle sites to build its own photovoltaics, and on the other hand, it realizes green energy through the purchase of green electricity.
However, due to the large electricity consumption of the chemical industry, the self-built photovoltaic power generation in the park is only a drop in the bucket for the total electricity consumption of enterprises. Therefore, many enterprises have green power procurement needs. In addition, due to the fact that there are many multinational enterprises in the park, and the current Chinese green certificateIt is difficult to be recognized by the international market, which is not conducive to product exports, and external market pressure has increased the demand for green electricity procurement.
The survey found that due to the influence of hardware facilities and electricity sales mechanisms, it is difficult and inefficient to trade green electricity across provinces and regions. Therefore, a unified national green electricity market needs to be formed urgently to provide enterprises with a long-term and stable supply of green electricity. The park plays an important role in promoting the procurement of green electricity by enterprises. In 2023, SCIP will be formulatedImplementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in Shanghai Chemical Industry ParkThe joint venture initiated the establishment of the Green Power Alliance, aiming to introduce long-term stable and competitive green power supply for the alliance enterprises, and promote the green transformation of chemical industrial parks with scale effects.
It is worth noting that green energy still faces challenges in practical application, which may lead to low-carbon resources being close at hand but not being utilized. Located on the north shore of Hangzhou Bay, SCIP has unique geographical conditions for the development of offshore wind power and tidal flat photovoltaics. However, the use of offshore resources involves multiple sectors, and chemical parks need to pay close attention to more detailed policy and management requirements at the national and local levels, explore new models and practices, and promote the practical application of green energy.
What experience can be learned from carbon reduction in chemical parks?
First, SCIP policies are aligned with national and local green development strategies. For example, the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) has releasedImplementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park、Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of SCIP (2023-2025) It is not only connected with Shanghai's industrial policies such as the Action Plan for Promoting the Development of Green and Low-Carbon Industries in Shanghai with New Tracks (2022-2025) and the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Shanghai's Advanced Materials Industry, but also with green development policies such as the Implementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in Shanghai's Industrial Sector"100 101" Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Shanghai's Industrial and Communication Industries (2022-2025)and other industry requirements docking.
Secondly, SCIP gives full play to the advantages of resource endowment of enterprises and parks. In terms of enterprises, SCIP has a good foundation, introducing many large state-owned enterprises and multinational companies with great influence and demonstration and leading role, and some domestic and foreign chemical giants already have alternative needs for low-carbon raw materials, hoping that enterprises will give more play to the self-driving force of green and low-carbon transformation. In terms of parks, SCIP has a solid industrial foundation in the chemical industry, a high level of circular economy, rich application scenarios, and green third-party agglomeration, all of which are indispensable conditions for promoting green development. The park has also built a green and low-carbon ecology through measures such as building an international innovation center for new chemical materials and promoting green power procurement.
Finally, the government and enterprises resonate at the same frequency and provide strong policy support for them. In terms of green manufacturing system, SCIP was the first to introduce policies to support enterprises, guiding and encouraging enterprises to carry out the construction of green factories, green products and green supply chains. The park also provides policy support for new technologies that are conducive to pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and further promotes demonstration projects in the park to drive other enterprises to reduce pollution and carbon emissions. Incentives and subsidies for green, circular and low-carbon development involve projects that support low-carbon energy transformation, energy-saving technological transformation projects, energy audits and energy-saving diagnosis projects with significant energy-saving effects, pollution reduction and carbon reduction projects, circular economy and comprehensive utilization of resources, and enterprises to create green manufacturing systems.
Green development and economic benefits are not contradictory
The park needs to consider the actual interests of enterprises and support their green and low-carbon transformation.
The main driving force for enterprises to achieve green and low-carbon development is the self-driving force of enterprises and the promotion of laws and regulations. Since the core demand of the enterprise is continuous profitability, the goal is high-quality and sustainable development. The government should formulate policies from the perspective of enterprises, and the park should play a leading and coordinating role to provide financing support for enterprises, clear policy obstacles, promote the implementation of projects, and achieve cost reduction and efficiency increase.
The survey found that there is no contradiction between the green development of chemical parks and economic benefits. From the cost point of view, to achieve green development, energy conservation and carbon reduction are required to save costs, carbon reduction will enhance the green competitiveness of products, bring internal driving force to enterprises, Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in accordance with"100 101" Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Shanghai's Industrial and Communication Industries (2022-2025), which can save 1% of energy consumption per year. From the perspective of industry, achieving the "double carbon" goal brings opportunities to the chemical industry.Action Plan for Green and Low-Carbon Development of SCIP (2023-2025) Lay out new green and low-carbon tracks, such as hydrogen energy supply and green fuel projects, and continue to contribute to the low-carbon economy and carbon neutrality of the whole society.
The green and low-carbon development of SCIP can provide docking and supporting facilities for leading industries, high-end industries and strategic emerging industries. There are a lot of related industry opportunities. Proposed by Shanghai"(2+2) +(3+6) +(4+5)" modern industrial system, which is closely related to the new chemical materials industry. "2+2" refers to the green and low-carbon transformation and digital transformation of all industries in Shanghai, especially traditional industries. New materials are one of the six key industries developed in Shanghai during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. SCIP promotes the construction of a special zone for electronic chemicals to provide guarantee for the basic supply chain of the integrated circuit industry. In Shanghai's entire industrial system, the new chemical materials industry will play a greater role and achieve high-quality development by relying on green transformation.
(The content of this article is from the exchange between the research group and the relevant person in charge of SCIP.) Writer: Gu Xiaodan; Project Leader: Jun Zhang, Xianbo Li; Project co-ordination: Tian Chunling; Group members: Gu Xiaodan, Dai Yuehua. Thanks to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology and the Shanghai Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Service Association for their help in this survey)
