Under the guidance of the Bureau of Energy, MIRDC successfully organized the Forum on Deployment and Promotion of Energy-Efficient Manufacturing Technologies for Fabricated Metal Products at the Innovation Value-added Center of Traditional Industry, MOEA on August 5. During the forum, MIRDC exchanged opinions with manufacturers in regard to the importance of energy conversation and related problems they have encountered in various fields (e.g. casting, forming, and heat treatment). MIRDC also proposed corresponding solutions to help industries develop more efficient processes and equipment that consume less energy and create less pollution plus meet the demand for talent training. MIRDC anticipated that these solutions would strike a balance between profits and environmental protection.
The development of energy technologies is vital to the economic growth of a country; as a result, every country has put a lot of effort into promoting energy efficiency and carbon reduction policies. In Taiwan, the industry sector consumes the most energy (53.1%), and the metal processing industry accounts for 17% of industrial energy consumption, which is ranked the third highest. Aiming to make Taiwan a driving force in the global economy, President Tsai has outlined the six core strategic industries, green energy and renewable energy being one of them. The government expects to increase green power generation to 20% by 2025. Moreover, the industry sector may cut energy consumption by 10-20% with adequate energy saving technologies and management strategies.
In this forum, experts from industrial, academic, and research sectors were invited to join the discussion. The attending guests included the following: The Taiwan Casting Industry Association, San Chan Metal Industry, Chia Yi Steel, Taiwan Forging Association, Stellar Tec., Taiwan Society for Metal Heat Treatment, Cheng Kung University, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Bau Xing Industries, Shu Chung Industrial, Xing Guang Industrial, Joy Sunrise Industries, and Gao Mao Metal Industry. According to a number of the manufacturers, in general, 80% of the energy consumed by a company is attributed to the power systems, pumping systems, heating systems, and other systems necessary for the manufacturing processes in its factory. The percentage is way higher than that for ambient lighting and peripheral systems. 52% of energy is actually used for production, meaning up to 28% of energy is wasted. This is particularly apparent in the traditional fabricated metal products industry. Due to outdated equipment, the percentage of energy used for non-production activities may be higher.
Dr. Chih-Lung Lin, vice president of MIRDC, stated that MIRDC sought to address energy conservation issues from the aspect of process and equipment improvement. In contrast to previous energy conservation strategies which focused on public infrastructure (such as air conditioning, lighting, motors, and pumps), new solutions will reduce the consumption of energy used for major processes (e.g. casting, forming, and heat treatment) and related equipment, which will create more significant benefits. Dr. Lin also pointed out that it would be easier to start from energy-efficient processes and equipment since the costs of setting up power storage (such as uninterruptible power supplies) or power generation systems (like solar power, wind power, etc.) are relatively high for small and medium enterprises. MIRDC upholds the concept of helping the industry develop techniques and technologies and resolve problems to keep a close eye on global technology trends in the fields of casting, forming, heat treatment, and so on, as well as the industry-related expertise developed over the years. MIRDC plans to develop high-efficiency smart energy consumption monitoring and management technologies for equipment related to the fabricated metal products industry. MIRDC hopes that the development and promotion of energy conservation strategies will accelerate the replacement of outdated equipment, thereby reducing more actual consumption and boosting manufacturers’ production efficiency and competitive edge on the world stage.