Understand the "addition and subtraction" of carbon neutrality, from Shanghai Carbon Expo Enterprises | Zero Carbon | Shanghai

At the first Shanghai International Carbon Neutrality Expo, various "zero carbon" booths emerged one after another, but most of them were achieved through purchasing carbon emissions. This is also true for various "zero carbon vegetables", "zero carbon homes" and other products on the market. However, in fact, to truly achieve overall carbon neutrality in society, purchasing carbon emissions is far from enough, and it relies more on "one plus one reduction" such as decarbonization and energy enhancement, as well as daily carbon reduction behaviors.

Subtraction: Greener production lines

As the major players in decarbonization, the energy, chemical, and manufacturing industries have always been key areas for carbon neutrality. The latest report from the International Energy Agency indicates that the carbon emissions of the global power industry currently account for about 40% of the total carbon emissions, and it is expected to stabilize in the future.

There is a popular saying in the thermal power generation industry that "reducing coal consumption by 10 grams per kilowatt hour is a new generation technology.". As early as 2011, the coal consumption index of Shenergy's Shanghai Waigaoqiao Third Power Plant had become a global leader, setting a world record of 276 grams of coal consumption per kilowatt hour of electricity.

More than a decade has passed in a blink of an eye, and this world record has been broken once again. As the world's largest single unit capacity and lowest energy consumption thermal power generation project, the 1350 MW ultra supercritical coal-fired power generation unit of Shenneng Anhui Pingshan Power Plant Phase II project has a rated coal consumption of only 249.31 grams per kilowatt hour for power supply. Compared to the units constructed during the same period in China, its coal consumption for power supply has further decreased by about 15 grams, saving 105000 tons of coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 258000 tons throughout the year.

Seemingly high polluting thermal power is slowly moving towards low-carbon "green electricity", while the chemical industry, which also bears the pressure of carbon reduction, is exploring greener production lines.

At the BASF booth, traditional steam cracking equipment has been electrified and is expected to achieve at least 90% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. It is reported that the steam cracking unit decomposes hydrocarbons into olefins and aromatics, requiring the furnace temperature to be raised to about 850 degrees Celsius. Currently, heating is mainly achieved by burning fossil fuels, which has become BASF's highest carbon emission production process, with annual carbon dioxide emissions exceeding 3 million tons.

Even in the highly electrified and automated automotive manufacturing industry, there is still a lot of operational space for carbon reduction. Wang Chenjun, Product Operations Director of Nippon Paint Business Unit, told reporters that among the four major processes of stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly in automobile manufacturing, the painting process is the most energy-efficient, accounting for about 70% of the total energy consumption in automobile production. Therefore, reducing the "heating reduction" in the painting process is an important issue for energy conservation and emission reduction. For example, compared to traditional baking processes, ultra-low temperature electrophoresis reduces energy consumption by 20-40 degrees Celsius, reduces energy consumption in fuel, electricity, and auxiliary materials by 20%, and can effectively reduce volatile organic compounds, significantly reducing carbon emissions in the production process.

Addition: Imagination of New Energy

While traditional industries are deepening their traditional industries, the pace of embracing new energy is accelerating. In recent years, the dual channels of carbon reduction and energy enhancement have achieved remarkable results. On the opening day of the Shanghai Carbon Expo, Yang Yinkai, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that the current installed capacity of non fossil energy power generation in China has reached 50.9%, historically exceeding the installed capacity of fossil energy power generation.

"We are working on the 950 MW solar thermal photovoltaic hybrid power generation project in Dubai, which can achieve 24-hour continuous solar power generation." At the Shanghai Electric booth, the sand table of this project is tightly packed. As is well known, photovoltaic power generation cannot achieve continuous power generation relying on solar energy. However, Shanghai Electric Power Plant uses solar energy to heat molten salt to a maximum temperature of 595 degrees Celsius during the day, and then uses the heat stored in the molten salt to drive steam power generation at night, ultimately achieving 24-hour solar energy.

It is reported that the solar thermal part of the project is 700 MW, consisting of 100 MW tower type and 3 200 MW trough type solar thermal units, covering a total area of 44 square kilometers, equivalent to 6162 football fields. After the operation of the unit, the trough type unit can store energy for up to 13.5 hours of continuous power generation at night or under adverse weather conditions, while the tower type unit can store energy for up to 15 hours of continuous power generation at night or under adverse weather conditions, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 1.6 million tons annually.

The imagination of photovoltaics far exceeds this.

As of the end of May this year, the cumulative promotion scale of new energy vehicles in Shanghai has reached 1.1282 million units, ranking first in the world's cities, which is inseparable from the support of charging network infrastructure construction. According to State Grid Shanghai Electric Power, the electricity consumption of new energy vehicle charging, swapping, and meter reading in Shanghai has reached a new historical high in a single month twice this year.

How to meet the increasingly high charging demand of new energy vehicles? State Grid Corporation of China has demonstrated the future of "photovoltaic smart roads", turning urban roads into photovoltaic power stations where new energy vehicles can continuously charge wirelessly while driving. At that time, new energy will become an important part of urban infrastructure.

Accounting: More Inclusive Carbon Neutrality

Schneider pointed out in its latest report that there are three overall trends in carbon reduction among Chinese enterprises: firstly, the awareness of carbon reduction among enterprises has significantly increased, and the number of surveyed enterprises that set clear carbon neutrality goals in 2022 has increased by 15% compared to 2021. Secondly, the driving force for corporate carbon reduction is shifting from external pressure to endogenous. In 2021, up to 90% of surveyed companies were driven by external pressures from policies and regulations to reduce carbon emissions, while in 2022, 66% of surveyed companies were driven by endogenous forces to reduce carbon emissions. Thirdly, sustainability is not only about costs but also about investments, with 66% of surveyed companies believing that reducing carbon can increase product premiums.

It can be seen that carbon neutrality not only brings awakening of environmental awareness, but also tangible benefits. Taking Schneider Electric as an example, in its global revenue, products or solutions that bring positive climate impacts account for over 70% of the company's total revenue.

Regarding this, Huang Wei, CEO of Lianyuan Intelligence, felt particularly deeply that when using AIoT and big data to integrate with enterprises and parks for carbon asset management, the participation of enterprises was not active at the beginning. However, the demand for energy conservation and carbon reduction in enterprises was transformed into virtual power plants and other forms. "At the peak of electricity consumption, enterprises only need to raise their air conditioning by 2 degrees Celsius, which not only saves industrial and commercial electricity costs, but also provides subsidies of tens of thousands of yuan to the power grid. In this way, the enthusiasm of enterprises was quickly mobilized, and the goal of carbon reduction was also achieved."

These changes have long been common at the Shanghai Carbon Expo.

The first grid connected energy storage project in cooperation between Budweiser and Yushuo Energy in Foshan has created a closed-loop solution for renewable power recycling, becoming the first case of Budweiser's global and Chinese beer industry. Therefore, Yushuo Energy's energy storage battery project has received the first loan from the World Bank.

According to the latest data from Frost Sullivan, the size of China's logistics packaging market is about 760 billion yuan, with over 90% of the packaging being disposable logistics packaging. Shanghai focuses on cultivating unicorn enterprises to share boxes through logistics packaging and recycling. Last year, it reduced 60 million disposable packaging materials and nearly 160000 tons of carbon emissions, thereby achieving a D-round financing of 200 million yuan.