The main conclusions and outcomes of the 2015 Paris Agreement, a historic turning point in addressing Climate Change, helped driving ME Elecmetal’s Sustainability Strategy. Thus, the urgent goal of reducing global temperature “well below 2 °C”, plus the specific commitments in all the countries where we have industrial presence, especially Chile, committed to be Carbon Neutral by 2050 encourages the Company to keep transforming its matrix gradually and consistently onto renewable generation. Our clients are moving from measuring, monitoring, and reducing emissions within scope 1 and 2, to actively include scope 3 in their management, which is fully related to measuring the carbon footprint of their supply chain, both upstream and downstream, and together, achieve neutrality by the year they’ve committed to.
With these trends in sight, ME Elecmetal at global, regional, and local level has decided to take steps to reduce its emissions, a space in which renewable energies play a key role.
To efficiently manage scope 3 indicators, and thus, meet global and local targets, our clients request decisive action and periodic reporting through tenders and contracts, as well as supplierssuppliers’ evaluations. Large mining companies that we attend with our integral solutions are embedding our progress and thus strengthening their own.
The commitment regarding emissions is contained in ME Elecmetal’s Sustainability Strategy, developed since 2022, which consists of 4 Pillars:
In the case of the Environment pillar, the strategy priorities a complete and verificated carbon management, more circularity to reduce emissions, and efficient management of operating resources such as energy and water.
“According to our statistics, more than 99% of the generated solar power is used by ourselves. For example, in 2022 and 2023, we generated around 550,000 KWH of solar energy per year, and only 1,500 kWh was returned to the grid”,
Tiger Liu, Plant Manager, ME China.
“We are certifying the Rancagua plant to ISO 50,001 energy management. We finished the audit at the beginning of March 2024 and we expect to obtain the certification that contributes to the reduction of total energy consumption”,
Matías Bustos, VP Operations, Chile.
The different operations have established renewable energy generation projects for energy efficiency and emissions reduction, which are specified below by region:
Chile, ME South America
In the case of Rancagua facility, currently 50% of the electrical energy is renewable, which is equivalent to approximately 25% of the total energy consumed, in a mixed matrix of electricity plus natural gas. To advance on this, the first step has been the purchasing of renewables attributes, with the certificate of support for the equivalent of 50% of the electricity consumption and with an investment of about USD 25,000 per year.
At the same time, progress has been made on the project to install a solar plant covering the facility’s parking lots, which would generate 1.7 GWH of additional energy per year, equivalent to 5% of the energy used. The construction of these panels responds to an evaluation that showed that this alternative was the most convenient in terms of implementation since it does not affect the plant’s processes. Along with this project, the plant has just been certified with ISO 50.001, energy management, and with this, apart from the certification itself, by 2024 it is expected to achieve a goal of 5% reduction in energy consumption regarding to the previous year.
ME China
ME Elecmetal, through its Changzhou Plant (2014) has a rooftop photovoltaic plant on a significant portion of its facility. This has allowed the operation to generate 550,000 KWH per year, of which 99% is consumed by the plant itself, specifically in offices, molding, and milling, although it excludes the melting process, which is highly demanding in terms of energy consumption.
The decision to install these panels was made for two reasons. First, China encourages manufacturing companies to install green power generation systems and to use it by feeding the surplus back into the grid and obtaining preferential prices for the remaining electricity. The second reason is to reduce carbon emissions in the production of castings, which is in line with the company’s values and echoing the growing demand from our customers in the mining industry. Additionally, in recent years China has increased its green power generation, which has led to a gradual reduction regarding carbon emissions per ton of product year on year, via matrix diversification.
In recent years China has increased the generation of green energy, which has led to a gradual reduction of carbon emissions per ton of product year after year, through diversification of the matrix. Although ME China generates only 1.5% of its total energy consumption, by 2026 it is expected to build an extension of its plant through a new project of more than 1,000 m2.
In parallel, in the case of the 50-50 Joint Venture with Long Teng Special Steel, our partner has built a solar plant ats its own facility at the port of Shanghai, which results in obtaining green credits from the energy generated there, which partly supports the reduction of emissions in the manufacture of grinding balls.
United States, ME North America
In the case of the North American operations, both the Tempe, Arizona, and Duluth, Minnesota, plants are evaluating options to operate with solar energy. In the case of the Tempe operation, considering that the city has more than 300 sunny days a year, is where Kinect Energy has made the most progress in this regard, and concrete outcomes are expected for the third quarter of 2024.
In the case of Duluth, there are plans to implement a plant by 2025. The facility currently receives power from Minnesota Power, operated by Allete Inc, a distributor that has invested heavily in renewable energy, including solar and wind generation. In fact, of its total distribution, 50% is wind and hydro power, while 33% is from fossil fuels, so Duluth is supplied by a mix: electricity by 39% (50% renewable by Minnesota Power) and natural gas by 61%.
Finally, as Elecmetal Holding, and through its subsidiary Cristalerias Chile, the Company participates in the Las Peñas Wind Plant in the Bío Bío region. Four wind turbines that deliver 8.4 MWH that are directly injected into the Chilean National Electric System (SEN).
An example of the effort to focus on renewable energies is the 50% reduction of the carbon footprint of the SAG grinding ball produced by the business unit ME Grinding Media, our Joint Venture in China, ME Long Teng. To achieve this reduction, different variables are integrated, such as the implementation of electric arc furnace technology, as well as the integration of renewable energies in its production process.
