GS Yuasa are pleased to announce that they have met their mid-term emission reduction and environmental targets as part of their response to climate change. The battery manufacturer has committed to reducing emissions by 30% before 2030.
The world’s leading battery manufacturer is actively working to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases it emits. Through a wide range of CO2 reduction measures, it is working towards CO2 neutrality, with ambitious targets to reduce total CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2018.
On the way to this target, between 2019 and 2022 CO2 emissions savings of six percent have already been achieved. Furthermore, the share of environmentally friendly products in the total sales mix of all products is now at least 35%, water consumption has been reduced by eight percent and the ratio of recycled lead used in battery production is over 35%.
This future strategy is the company’s response to climate change. GS Yuasa is equally working to contribute to global CO2 neutrality by accelerating the adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles. In developing innovative products, the company is focusing on reducing the environmental impact of petrol and diesel vehicles via greater fuel efficiency.
Andrew Taylor, Managing Director and CEO of GS Yuasa Battery Europe Ltd, said ‘GS Yuasa are committed to caring for the environment and working towards a greener future, and our ambitious long-term greenhouse gas target of reducing CO2 emissions by at least 30% by 2030 reflects this.
We are delighted to have met our mid-term targets which show we are well on the way to achieving this. We will continue to work hard towards a greener future in our own operations and through new battery technologies and products.’
To achieve these goals, GS Yuasa is committed to developing and implementing innovative technologies and systems, some examples of these here in Europe include:
Renewable energy use at GS Yuasa Battery Manufacturing UK
Installation of nearly 3,000 solar panels and a wind turbine at the GS Yuasa battery manufacturing plant in Ebbw Vale, UK has taken place over recent years. The 2800MWh of energy generated is used in the production and charging of batteries produced at the site, reducing the reliance on traditional forms of energy significantly. In addition to the roof mounted solar panels and turbine, containerised dual chemical battery energy storage systems utilising lithium-ion and VRLA batteries store the renewable energy and release it back into the grid, providing optimum benefit.
Resource recycling of used products
GS Yuasa focuses on targeted recycling in its own production environment. In addition, it promotes initiatives to reprocess used products and recycle valuable materials by using an area-wide certification system. This involves the manufacturers of a product at the end of its useful life in the recycling and disposal of the product. This enables more efficient recycling and provides feedback on product design, leading to easier and proper disposal and reuse.
Use of recycled lead
GS Yuasa is also working hard to increase the utilization rate of recycled lead. As this is the main material of lead-acid batteries, one of GS Yuasa’s core products, sustainable use of this resource is particularly important. The share of recycled lead in the production of batteries is to be at least 35% in accordance with the company’s own sustainability targets.
Buffering PV systems for efficient energy transition
When generating photovoltaic power, changes in natural conditions such as sunshine hours and temperature can cause significant fluctuations in the power generated, while a sharp increase in photovoltaic power load can affect the quality of system performance in terms of voltage and frequency. For this reason, battery storage systems are necessary to stabilize the power fluctuations when PV systems feed into the grid. This is where our industrial lithium-ion battery modules of the LIM50EL series are used, for example.
Container solution for fast charging of e-vehicles and stabilization of the power grid
GS Yuasa’s dual energy storage system is the centerpiece of the Port Energy Systems Optimization (PESO) project in Portsmouth, England: it comes in the form of a weatherproof shelter and can deliver 100 kW of power. It will use both lithium-ion and standard lead-acid battery technology.
Energy-saving transport and resource recycling
GS Yuasa has developed a method to identify and optimize the amount of goods shipped as well as energy consumption and CO2 emissions during logistics. In addition, the battery manufacturer is reducing the amount of items transported between sites. It is focusing on integrating physical distribution bases and shifting traffic from trucks to rail containers and other related transportation systems.
Find out more about GS Yuasa at www.gs-yuasa.eu