Mr. Amorn Sapthaweekul, Deputy CEO of Energy Absolute Public Company Limited, says that the company operates green energy business and energy innovation technology for the future through various businesses comprising solar-wind farm, lithium-ion battery factory, biodiesel from palm oil, electric vehicle (EV) car and ferry produced by Thai and EV charging stations, focusing on business related to the need of energy in the future and energy efficiency for the best benefit. The company has emphasized on intensive research and development in technology and invented new innovations to extend and add value to existing businesses. As the company is aware of responsibility to stakeholders, communities and the country which leads to a strong intention to build and share economic and social success together, the concept of Corporate Social Innovation (CSI) is implemented.
"We want to share our knowledge, innovation and technology we use in our organisation for benefits to society and relevant communities to grow and be strong for mutual benefits in a long run. It is a foundation leading to community development in all dimensions of sustainability eventually, pioneered with PCM or Phase Change Material produced from crude palm oil as the world's first time! With blockchain innovation, it develops an online platform to record, verify and facilitate additional profit sharing scheme. This is the company's CSI prototype with an investment budget of more than 1 Billion Baht to solve price and volume fluctuation of palm. It will also add value of palm, boosting an income of farmers and stakeholders in supply chain. We believe that considering sustainable development must have a balance of 3 Ps pillar which comprise 1) Planet : managing energy for maximum benefit to this planet by using technology to add value to the product and conserve natural resources; 2) People : benefitting all stakeholders; and 3) Profit : generating a good return and sharing it to the cycle."
Phase Change Material or PCM is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, melting and solidifying at a certain temperature, is capable of storing and releasing heat. Heat is absorbed or released when the material changes from solid to liquid and vice versa; thus, PCMs are classified as latent heat storage (LHS) units and applied in many industries such as building and construction, textile, packaging and logistics. PCM developed from crude palm oil base or bio PCM is a new innovation, created for the world's first time by EA which has put its PCM under the patent registration process in the global market. The PCM market size is estimated at around US$ 1 billion which is expected to increase triple in the next 5 years. EA's PCM production plant is in Rayong with a production capacity of 130 tonnes a day. The first phase of production will start in the second quarter. All will be exported to Germany and Japan to be used in construction of building and residences. This is a significant role in energy conservation as PCM can provide a more stable temperature to reduce energy consumption from air-conditioners or heaters. By the end of the year, revenue from PCM will be around 800 Million Baht which will account for 3% of the company's total revenue. The second phase of PCM production line will be completed by the end of the year and the company aims to expand production capacity to 1,000 tonnes a day within 5 years.
EA also transforms Thai palm industry with the launch of 'Palm Yang Yuen' (Sustainable Palm) application, the world's first palm platform with blockchain technology, to facilitate farmers and related partners. They can register by entering personal information, transaction data and quality of raw materials for examination, the additional benefits will be shared if the raw materials meet quality standards to be produced as high-quality PCM. This will be a key driver to promote farmers to produce good quality raw materials. Consequently, pricing will be led by market mechanism with the practice of transparency which can be examined in every process. With payment system, farmers will get paid quickly by money transfer to their registered account. The application can help prevent trading of smuggling palm into this system and also can be applied widely.
The event showcases PCM innovation and "Sustainable Palm" platform with Mr. Sontirat Sontijirawong, Minister of Energy, presiding over and talking about the government's cooperation strategy in supporting and promoting the development of innovation for sustainable Thai industry. He is joined by Mr. Supant Mongkolsuthree, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries.
