Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥) yesterday said that it expects cement to account for less than half of its sales by 2025, as revenue from energy storage and vehicle charging businesses pick up.
Cement production would remain the company’s core business, despite business diversification efforts, Taiwan Cement chairman Nelson Chang (張安平) said at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting.
While the company is expanding into the green energy business in line with global efforts to curb carbon emissions, it would continue to produce up to 80 million tonnes of cement a year, Chang said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Cement Corp
The foray into green energy is intended to help maintain its core operations, as cement manufacturing generates considerable carbon emissions and is subject to heavy carbon taxes in different parts of the world, Chang said.
For instance, its cement facility in Portugal pays a carbon tax of US$100 per tonne, higher than the selling price of cement, he said.
As such, the company has no choice but to invest in carbon reduction ventures to stay afloat, he added.
Carbon reductions must be fast and efficient, and the use of solar and other green energy resources in producing cement is not enough to offset carbon emissions, Chang said.
That means Taiwan Cement has to press ahead and develop carbon capture techniques that would help mitigate the negative impact of cement production on the environment, he said.
Carbon reduction will be crucial for Taiwan Cement and the whole industry in the coming decades, as carbon emissions are gaining speed and causing unimaginable damage to the world, he said.
The company will continue to produce cement, because it is a basic material for all building and infrastructure projects, he said.
As cement is a social necessity, Taiwan Cement has a responsibility to help reduce carbon emissions, he added.
Chang said he has been visiting cement facilities in China every month since the nation reopened its borders late last year.
Taiwan Cement is conservative about its outlook for this year, amid global concern over curbing carbon emissions and raw material prices remaining high, albeit lower than their peak last year, officials said.
Investments in energy storage and vehicle charging would take time to make meaningful contributions to profit, they said.
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