Carbon capture techniques will continue to be a top priority for Taiwan Cement Corp’s (台灣水泥) Hualien-based subsidiary Ho-Ping Power Co (和平電廠), chairman Nelson Chang (張安平) said yesterday at a news conference in Hualien, citing reductions in production costs and new business potential for growing microalgae as benefits.
Taiwan Cement, the nation’s largest cement maker, has since 2011 been involved in a carbon capture project at Ho-Ping Power through collaborations with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) since 2011. The project aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and promote a circular economy.
PILOT PLANT
The pilot plant at Ho-Ping Power is the world’s largest facility to employ the calcium looping process for carbon capture, the company said.
The calcium looping capture process uses calcium oxide, a common ingredient in cement products, as a sorbent for carbon dioxide and could reduce the carbon dioxide capture cost from more than US$45 per tonne to US$30 per tonne, the company said.
Taiwan Cement and ITRI last year signed an agreement to extend their technical cooperation on the project.
The pilot production lines are likely to begin commercial operations before 2022, Chang said, citing difficulty scaling up the project.
The firm has allocated a capital budget of nearly NT$70 million (US$2.3 million) to the technique in the past few years and plans to spend NT$10 million per year in the future.
Apart from lowering production costs, carbon capture technology also turned out to have unexpected business potential after the company found that captured carbon dioxide could be used to grow microalgae.
MICROALGAE
Microalgae — a major source of biofuel — can also produce astaxanthin, a key ingredient in high-value skincare products and medicines.
Taiwan Cement said it is seeking business partners to promote skincare uses for astaxanthin, instead of launching its own brand.
The company needs to stay focused on its core business and has no plans to tap into the retailing industry, Chang told the Taipei Times.
Taiwan Cement’s long-term goal was to transform itself from a traditional cement maker into a “green” service provider, the company said.
Revenue generated by the company’s two major energy subsidiaries, Ho-Ping Power and Moli Energy Corp (能元科技), made up nearly 15 percent of Taiwan Cement’s total sales last year, while its cement business contributed 73 percent, data showed.
‘GREEN ENERGY’
Meanwhile, the company plans to launch a large-scale “green” energy project at the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park (彰濱工業區), Chang said.
He declined to provide details on the new project, saying only that it is to include wind power generation.
Many companies put their unused factories up for sale, but the company hopes to “revitalize” its abandoned facilities, Chang said.
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has secured three construction permits for its plan to build a state-of-the-art A14 wafer fab in Taichung, and is likely to start construction soon, the Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, Wang Chun-chieh (王俊傑), deputy director general of the science park bureau, said the world’s largest contract chipmaker has received three construction permits — one to build a fab to roll out sophisticated chips, another to build a central utility plant to provide water and electricity for the facility and the other to build three office buildings. With the three permits, TSMC
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
TEMPORARY TRUCE: China has made concessions to ease rare earth trade controls, among others, while Washington holds fire on a 100% tariff on all Chinese goods China is effectively suspending implementation of additional export controls on rare earth metals and terminating investigations targeting US companies in the semiconductor supply chain, the White House announced. The White House on Saturday issued a fact sheet outlining some details of the trade pact agreed to earlier in the week by US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) that aimed to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Under the deal, China is to issue general licenses valid for exports of rare earths, gallium, germanium, antimony and graphite “for the benefit of US end users and their suppliers
RSS