ABB and Yitai Group to develop technologically advanced coal chemical plants
Published by Claire Cuddihy,
Assistant Editor
World Coal,
Pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, ABB and one of China’s leading coal producers, the Yitai Group, have signed an agreement that will bring deeper cooperation in applying digital technologies, solutions, services and expertise to improve performance across Yitai’s coal chemical plants. Additionally, the two companies have agreed to form a consortium to explore, develop and exploit opportunities presented by intelligent, digitally-empowered plants, more generally, within the coal chemical industry at home and abroad.
"Yitai Group is committed to making the modern coal chemical industry bigger, stronger and better by utilising advanced science and technology. At the same time, we also face the challenge to improve economic return and fierce market competition," said Zhang DaiHua, Project Manager of Yitai’s intelligent coal chemical plant and Deputy General Manager of Yitai’s Coal Chemical Management Department. "Yitai looks forward to using ABB's digital solutions and services to achieve the intelligent control and management optimisation of our plants, thereby reducing production costs, ensuring safety and improving productivity and information. We’d like to truly accomplish the integration of informatisation and industrialisation as well as intelligent upgrading."
The agreement is expected to give the Yitai Group access to the ABB AbilityTM technology platform: an integrated industrial Internet offering cloud infrastructure based on ABB's leading expertise across a wide range of technologies and industries. It enables businesses to harness the power of industrial data to enhance decision-making.
ABB’s digital and traditional technologies in the electrical, control, instrumentation and telecommunications (ECIT) areas will be used to upgrade Yitai’s brownfield sites and optimise greenfield opportunities. Yitai is to also benefit from ABB’s collaborative operations approach which connects people in production facilities with those at headquarters and ABB’s centres of expertise. This real-time information sharing ensures data insights drive optimum decision-making. Such integrated digitalisation improves coordination by breaking down functional silos. Opening data flow between various plant systems, departments and experts provides greater visibility that helps improve asset availability, operational efficiency and profitability.
"At present, a new round of technological upgrading and industrial transformation has promoted rapid changes in the industrial field. Digital and intelligent technologies have become the important driving force and developmental direction of global industrial change,” explained Dr. Gu Chunyuan, President of Asia, Middle East and Africa Region, ABB Group, and Chairman and President of ABB (China) Co., Ltd. “Through this cooperation, ABB combines its own advanced technologies and practical solutions with Yitai's industry expertise in the coal chemical industry. The two parties work together to support coal chemical enterprises to accelerate digital transformation and intelligent development, with the aim to enhance their core competitiveness in the global market.”
"The entire oil, gas and chemical industry is now in a period of dramatic transformation. Our 50-plus years of experience in global petrochemicals, coupled with our extensive suite of integrated ABB AbilityTM digital solutions, make us uniquely positioned to help customers overcome the many challenges they face. Our proven ability to turn dumb data into high-impact insight will help our customers like Yitai flourish during this Fourth Industrial Revolution," concluded Colin Ward, Head of Chemical and Refining business, ABB Group.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/exploration-and-development/01032018/abb-and-yitai-group-sign-technology-agreement/
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