CSR EUROPE
Renault unveils zero-emission plant in Morocco
Thanks to a partnership between the Kingdom of Morocco, Renault and Veolia Environnement, the Tangier plant, inaugurated in February 2012, emits zero carbon and zero industrial liquid discharges.
Production at the plant begins with two new Entry models: the new family car, Dacia Lodgy, and a small van which will also be available in passenger car form. Allowing for higher production volumes, Renault’s Tangier plant produces on one production line with an annual output capacity of 170,000 vehicles. Ultimately, capacity will be increased to 400,000 vehicles/year.
The environmental impact of Renault’s Tangier plant is reduced to levels that have never been reached by a bodywork-assembly plant:
- CO2 emissions are cut by 98%, the equivalent of about 135,000 tons of CO2 per year.
- no industrial waste water is discharged into the natural ecosystem and the quantity of water consumed by manufacturing processes is cut by 70%.
This result was achieved thanks not only to innovative production processes, but also to the employment of renewable energies and optimised water recycling management. This work was recently recognised by the European Union which awarded Renault at its fifth Sustainable Energy Europe Awards in 2011 (‘Production’ category).
A zero-carbon production plant
CO2 emissions from the Tangier plant are cut by 98%, a figure that represents 135,000 fewer tons of CO2 every year, by optimizing energy consumption and using renewable energies. The few remaining tons of CO2 are offset either by buying carbon credits or by generating renewable energy on site.
Step 1: reduce the site’s consumption of thermal energy.
Renault and Veolia Environnement have worked together to cut the site’s consumption, and Renault has revised its painting processes, especially in the baking phases. Substantial energy savings have been made by combining innovative technologies and best practices for the recovery of energy in the paintshop, which accounts for 70% of the plant’s thermal energy consumption. The thermal energy requirements of the Tangier
plant are cut by 35% (more than 40 GWh PCI per year), compared with a plant with an equivalent production capacity.
Step 2: zero CO2 thermal energy generation.
Veolia Environnement and Renault together identified a zero-CO2thermal energy generation system. Biomass boilers produce the high-pressure, superheated water that is required, amongst others, for the paint process ovens and the heating water used in other manufacturing processes, plus the ventilation of the air in the buildings on the site. Part of the fuel for the biomass boilers are made up of locally sourced olive stones. Initially, the rest of the fuel is made up of eucalyptus wood imported from
Southern Europe, and, 4 years hence, short-rotation eucalyptus from Morocco.
Electricity generated using renewable sources. The Moroccan National Electricity Office’s campaign to develop renewable energy forms
allows the site to be powered entirely by wind and hydraulic electricity.
Zero industrial liquid discharges
The Tangier plant does not discharge any industrial liquids and cuts its water consumption for manufacturing processes by 70% in comparison with a plant with equivalent output capacity.
These results have been achieved by:
- optimizing the manufacturing processes to reduce the need for water and the corresponding discharges,
- using leading-edge technologies developed by Veolia Environnement to recycle all the industrial effluents. A number of steps are required to transform the effluents into purified, demineralized water. This water, which meets the quality standards of the processes, can then be reused on the vehicle production lines.
These improvements avoid using the equivalent of 175 Olympic swimming pools (437,500 m²) of water from the ecosystem every year.
(Source: Renault)
16 April 2012
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