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| Inside the energy storage system of Hanon Systems' Pyeongtaek Plant in Gyeonggi Province are 1,200 battery cells. They store up electricity during night when the cost is low and discharge it during power peak hours in the afternoon. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Hanon Systems' Pyeongtaek Plant wins government honor for energy-conserving operation
By Ko Dong-hwan
Global full-line automotive thermal equipment supplier Hanon Systems is bent on making not just its products but also its factories eco-friendly.
On top of acquiring Canadian auto parts supplier Magna's global Fluid Pressure and Controls (FP&C) business earlier this year to boost electric vehicle parts production, the Korean firm's domestic factories are going through renovations to save energy and reduce waste.
Among those factories, Pyeongtaek Plant in Gyeonggi Province was selected in June by the country's environment ministry in the annual Green Company Award. Held at Blue One Resort in Gyeongju, South Gyeongsang Province, the award recognized the Daejeon-based listed company's auto compressor-dedicated unit for its green growth initiative.
The plant's director BK Choi told The Korea Times the award recognized the plant's eco-friendly technologies and energy-saving operation out of 137 candidates.
"The plant's biggest strength is that it runs on almost 100 percent automation to minimize human error," said Choi, overseeing 671 workers at the factory built in 1991.
With the award, the plant holds the title for the next three years.
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| The plant monitors in real time water pipelines and wastewater and controls the flow. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
The automation controls machines and infrastructure in the 65,000-square-meter factory beside the West Sea to maximize saving power and lower environmental hazards.
In winter, heated air from machine rooms' compressors moves through air ducts to be piped into the plant to be recycled for heating. It saves power to run liquefied natural gas (LNG) heaters the plant no longer uses.
Heated air is also recycled for ultrasonic cleaners. The machines need water and steam to maintain a temperature of 60 degree Celsius. The plant previously drew both from direct sources. Recycling heated air, however, saves steam ― a heat transformer draws heated gas from kilns and water, warms the water using the gas to the temperature level, and sends it to the cleaners.
When carving pistons, the plant's patented friction stir welding technology doesn't generate gas and arc during the process, reducing manufacturing costs.
Another patented technology from piston making is hard-coating using polytetrafluoroethylene ― a slippery, non-sticking fluorocarbon polymer. It coats only on needed areas of each piston, which is different from the conventional coating that sprays larger areas than needed.
The technology saves 80 percent of the chemical, also known as Teflon, and leaves no aerial particulate that can cause air pollution once released outside.
With the breakthroughs, the plant between 2010 and 2018 reduced electricity use by 12 percent (from 71,000 megawatts to 62,000 megawatts) while its production was increased by 32 percent (from 4.85 million compressors to 6.39 million).
The plant's energy unit load, during the same period, was also down by 41 percent, from 17.4 kilowatts to 10.2 kilowatts.
The plant also generated from 2015 to 2018 carbon emissions that mounted to less than its carbon emission trading market cap. In 2018, the factory released 27,427 tons, lower than the cap of over 28,000 tons.
Efficiency in the operation has kept chemical oxygen demand (COD) level ― a water quality standard ― of the plant's wastewater down to 14-16 on average, safe compared to the country's standard cap of 130.
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| The plant bought 1,200 photovoltaic panels from LSIS and started installing them on Factory A. Once complete, they will provide 1,153 kilowatts of electricity at peak. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
The plant has also invested in renewable energy sourcing.
Last year it built an energy storage system (ESS) bunker. Covered by concrete, the space has 1,200 battery cells that store electricity saved during night when electricity costs cheaper than daytime. The plant then discharges the saved power during the peak hours, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., 1,600 kilowatts per hour. It contributes to the plant's heavy power demand reaching 8,700 kilowatts per hour.
"We prepared the ESS to support the central government that monitors peak electricity demand at domestic manufacturing sites and controls necessary power," Choi said.
The plant also started installing 1,200 photovoltaic panels on the rooftop of Factory A, with a peak capacity of 1,153 kilowatts. The construction is scheduled to be completed by later this year.
Electricity from the solar roof will be sold to the state-owned electricity supplier Korea Electric Power Corporation for 1.5 times the regular rate. The government's renewable energy certificate (REC) appreciates the value of solar-powered electricity from rooftops of manufacturing sites or floating photovoltaic.
"We couldn't have opted for the photovoltaic if it weren't for the government's pro-renewable energy policies," Choi said. "Some of our plants outside Korea, however, cannot source renewable energies because the governments there don't support harnessing the energies."
