AI Assists Carbon Reduction

Asia Cement and Asia Concrete Lead the Building Materials Industry Toward Sustainability 

Asia Cement and its subsidiary, Ya-tung Ready-mixed Concrete, jointly participated in the 2023 Taipei Building Show on December 7th. The innovative technology in the processes of cement production and carbon reduction made a debut and it also showcased the development and application of high-performance concrete. Lee Kun-yen, the President of Asia Cement and concurrently the Chairman of Ya-tung Ready-mixed Concrete, stated that with the advent of the low-carbon era, Asia Cement has been well prepared. Over the years, the company has dedicated itself to researching, developing, and promoting of low-carbon cement. Through upgrading and optimizing artificial intelligence and digital transformation, production efficiency has been increased, leading to significant breakthroughs in green building materials. Asia Cement is committed to providing environmentally friendly solutions to society and fulfilling its steadfast commitment to a green future, guiding the industry towards sustainable development.

Low-carbon cement has become one of Asia Cement's core competitive advantages. As one of the pioneers of low-carbon cement in Taiwan, Asia Cement's sales of low-carbon cement have steadily increased in recent years. Taking masonry cement as an example, sales of it has risen from a mere 1,500 tons in early 2021 to an estimated 28,000 tons for the entire year of 2023, indicating a growing demand of low-carbon cement in the market. Anticipating Taiwan's forthcoming carbon tax policy, Asia Cement is not only strengthening the production of bagged masonry cement and bulk Portland limestone cement but also planning to further develop binary and ternary blended cement. The carbon emissions per ton is reduced by 18% for masonry cement and 12% for Portland limestone cement. The newly developed ternary blended cement is expected to achieve a remarkable 50% reduction in carbon emissions. 

On the path to achieving low-carbon goals, Asia Cement fully leverages AI technology, particularly automatic machine learning. Through the development of virtual measurements, the company predicts clinker quality and the thermal efficiency of the production system. Utilizing an automatic analysis system for limestone in the quarry, Asia Cement maximizes the use of alternative raw materials, reducing the consumption of natural resources. Additionally, the company establishes a preheating furnace system to maximize the use of alternative fuels and reduce coal consumption. In terms of electricity, Asia Cement significantly enhances waste heat power generation. With the completion of solar power generation at the end of this year, the company aims to diversify energy consumption, enhancing overall energy efficiency. 

 In recent years, Ya-tung Ready-mixed Concrete has successfully introduced a variety of high-performance concrete products, widely applied in various construction sites. These include low-carbon concrete, new permeable concrete, high impermeability concrete, temperature-controlled concrete, high-flow concrete, and clear water concrete. Apart from their outstanding performance, these products achieve a carbon reduction of over 40% and have received the first Carbon Label certification from the Environmental Protection Administration in Taiwan. The certification meets customers' demand for 'low-carbon' concrete. Ya-tung Ready-mixed Concrete emphasizes that the Ready-mixed Concrete industry is now transitioning from traditional industries to a new era of AI technology management. Smart manufacturing has become a key element in improving efficiency and quality. Ya-tung Ready-mixed Concrete has introduced Smart Rock to monitor concrete temperature and strength, and in collaboration with Far EasTone, developed a precast concrete quality management app system to help customers track the history of concrete supply. In the future, Ya-tung Ready-mixed Concrete will use the Internet of Things to automatically collect monitoring data. Through AI algorithms and image recognition, the company aims to achieve a 50% reduction in concrete carbon emissions by 2030, while simultaneously enhancing work efficiency, technical capabilities, creating competitive advantages, and achieving optimal operational performance.