Site Sustainability

Ranipet Decarbonisation

In 2022, our Thermal Ceramics site in Ranipet, India invested significantly in electric ovens to replace the fossil fuel powered ones at site. Best practice sharing revealed that electric continuous ovens used in other parts of the Group were performing more efficiently. The team sourced and installed a replacement that uses electricity rather than fuel oil, and uses 40% less energy per kilogram of product manufactured (0.41 to 0.25 kWh/kg).

In addition a new electrical batch oven was designed and installed, replacing a fossil fuel powered oven. This uses 28% less energy per kilogram of product manufactured. Based on this success, four more electrical driers were horizontally deployed. This now means that all ovens and furnaces in Ranipet (which makes fibre and converted fibre products) are powered by electricity and therefore protected from the transition risk of carbon taxation.

Ranipet already had a solar array on site, generating 100,000kWh of green energy annually (around 1% of the site consumption). During 2022, a much larger 4MWp system was installed, which will generate approximately 5.6 million kWh of green energy annually, supporting 50% of the site’s annual consumption.

These projects combined are expected to reduce the overall CO2e of the site by nearly 50%. The remaining emissions are 97% scope 2 – which is driven by the high grid factor in India and would be addressed with further procurement of green energy. The remaining scope 1 emissions are mainly fuels used for back-up generators. These successful projects demonstrate a pathway to net zero and are replicable at other Morgan sites globally. They serve as templates for other sites as we electrify our lower temperature thermal processes in line with our decarbonisation roadmap.

Oven Modernisation

In our St Mary’s plant, we are undertaking a phased project to upgrade 18 ovens in the impregnation department. The new ovens are at least 30% more efficient due to the improved insulation packages, with the added safety benefit of having lower external shell temperatures. The increased uptime and lower maintenance costs add to the efficiency savings.

Furnace Working Group

In 2021, we formed a cross-GBU furnace working group. This group compiled a centralised database of all the furnaces across Morgan, sharing information on furnace construction, fuel and performance in 2022. This has resulted in a searchable database which served as the basis for our transition scenario analysis on the effect of carbon taxation on our business, and more latterly as the starting point for our decarbonisation roadmap. Of the 721 furnaces evaluated, more than half (62%, 447 furnaces) are already fuelled by electricity, so these will decarbonise in line with our carbon-free energy procurement strategy by 2030. Of the remaining 264 furnaces, 195 have identified, currently available carbon free alternative technologies that could be implemented. A further 38 could likely be transitioned with significant development work, leaving only 31 without a currently available carbon-free alternative technology.

Aurangabad Water Harvesting

Our site in Aurangabad, India sits in a water stressed area. To reduce the water use of the site, in 2022, a 500m3 water harvesting system was built and commissioned to capture and store rainwater during the monsoon season. The system is expected to reduce the water consumption of the site by 6,750 m3, about 23% of the site’s total water use. The facility was inaugurated by Pete Raby, CEO, Morgan Advanced Materials, and Aniruddha Karve, Managing Director Molten Metal Systems on 10 November 2022.

Augusta Environmental Control System

Our Augusta facility, located in Georgia, USA, has installed a new environmental control system that aims to greatly decrease the emissions of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter generated by our on-site processes. These emissions can have an adverse effect on the local flora and fauna. Our project team worked closely with the local authorities to ensure the successful implementation of this large-scale installation, with a goal of reducing sulphur dioxide emissions by 50%. The project was a resounding success, achieving a remarkable 90% reduction in emissions. This accomplishment is a testament to Morgan's unwavering dedication to improving air quality and biodiversity in the communities surrounding our facilities.