The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) was held from November 6 to November 20, 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. A series of important climate change topics were discussed at the conference to unite governments, businesses, and public forces to promote green development and jointly address global climate change.
(Photo From Xinhuanet)
During COP27, "Challenges and Solutions for Carbon Neutralization of Energy Systems", "Synergy of Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction: Realizing Win-Win Results in Terms of Environmental, Climatic, and Economic Benefits", "Reduce Pollution and Lower Carbon to Promote the Development of Green Power and Cooperate to Respond to Global Climate Change", and many other themed side events were held in China’s pavilion at the venue of the COP27, in which the 2022 China Business Climate Action Cases were released, and carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals were frequently mentioned.
During the conference, the world heard the voices and stories of China. Outside the conference, the National Speed Skating Oval (the "Ice Ribbon") and other sports venues in China also responded to the vision of COP27 with low-carbon practices, realizing the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals that China has made a solemn commitment to the world with practical actions, and actively answering the call to enable economic and social green transformation in China through technological innovation.
As a new venue for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the National Speed Skating Oval fully embodies green, environmental protection, energy saving, low carbon, sustainability, and other characteristics in terms of design concepts, technical processes, material selections, and operations.
Adhering to the concept of "Green Olympics" and comprehensively considering the long-term operation and low energy consumption requirements of a sustainable development system after the Winter Olympics, the National Speed Skating Oval has adopted the most advanced, environmentally friendly and efficient CO2 transcritical direct cooling ice-making technology, becoming the world's first speed skating venue using such a technology.
"Practitioner" of Climate Actions with Low Carbon and Emission Reduction
Ice Making with Environmental-friendly Refrigerant: Taking green and low carbon as the core, the National Speed Skating Oval uses CO2 refrigerant featuring an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of 0 and a global warming potential (GWP) of 1. Compared with conventional Freon refrigerant, the CO2 refrigerant can improve energy efficiency by more than 20%, making it one of the most environmental-friendly and sustainable refrigerants.
Carbon emissions of the full ice surface design are close to zero. Compared with traditional Freon refrigerant, it can reduce carbon emissions by 25,000 tons per year, which exceeds the carbon emission reduction achieved by 1.2 million trees.
Reuse of Energy: The ice-making machine of the skating rink provides cooling throughout the year. The waste heat generated by refrigeration is used to provide hot water for athletes, melt ice in the pool, maintain the ice surface, pour ice via an efficient recycling system, greatly improving the recycling rate of the condensation heat. The entire system can save about 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of more than 6,000 households in Beijing in a month.
Releasing truly low-carbon and sustainable development, the National Speed Skating Oval has become a "Practitioner" of low carbon and emission reduction.
(During Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Albert II, Prince of Monaco and Chairman of the IOC Sustainability and Legacy Commission, visited the ice resurfacing machine room of the National Speed Skating Oval and made a video call with the ice making engine room outside the closed loop to learn about the CO2 transcritical direct cooling ice-making technology and the sustainable development of the venue. He highly recognized the applications of green technological achievements and low-carbon environmental protection measures of the venue.)
Green Venue "Pioneers" in Energy Saving and Environmental Protection
Efficient Use of Solar Energy, Air Energy, Electricity, and Other Clean Energies: To make full use of the cold and heat in the air, a high-efficiency air source heat pump is used as the cold and heat source for the floor heating in winter and floor cooling in summer for the audience gathering hall, The heating and cooling capacity of the pump is about 500 to 600 kW, and it is estimated that 160 tons of CO2 emissions can be reduced each year. The solar power generation capacity of solar photovoltaic power generation devices installed on the roof to fit the architectural shape is about 330kW, enabling a proportion of electricity provided by renewable energy of more than 1.5%. Compared with conventional ice pouring trucks fueled by liquefied petroleum gas, electric ice pouring trucks can save energy by about 75%, minimizing the impact on the environment.
Recycling of Renewable Building Materials: The prefabricated slabs for stands of the National Speed Skating Oval are made of recycled concrete, the aggregate of which comes from 654 crushed and screened waste piles. The permeable pavement is made of exposed aggregated concrete by a dedicated manufacturer, who has used leftover materials during stone mining and processing to produce the aggregate. The glasses added into the special art concrete to express the ice and snow appearance is made of recycled materials. The outdoor furniture and other modeling pieces are also made of recycled concrete, which can save materials and reduce carbon emissions by 80%.
Besides, the venue uses the building information modeling (BIM) technology to establish an energy monitoring system and a large environmental database. It can coordinate ice production, water and electricity, heating and ventilation, lighting, and other intelligent equipment to optimize the energy consumption, monitor the environment in a timely and accurate manner, and maintain the best environments for the venue.
The systematic applications of technological achievements and the reuse of recyclable materials have turned the "Ice Ribbon" into a green and low-carbon smart venue.
On January 4, 2022, Chinese president Xi Jinping took a closer look of the ice-making process, the temperature of the ice surface, and other parameters when he visited the National Speed Skating Oval. He emphasized that facilities for ice sports had high requirements for ice-making technologies, and the National Speed Skating Oval did possess world-class hardware and world-leading ice-making technologies, and had achieved low carbon and zero emission. He required that the technology integration demonstration effects of this project should be brought into full play, and technology transformation, promotion, and application should be strengthened to facilitate the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and contribute to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.
(Photo From Xinhuanet)
By taking actions to implement climate responsibilities, the National Speed Skating Oval will adhere to the concept of green and low-carbon development, continue to practice the social responsibilities of environmental protection, energy conservation and emission reduction, and sustainable development, promote the transformation of green technological achievements. By popularizing the application of the CO2 transcritical direct cooling ice-making technology, it will accelerate the industry transformation and development, exert the synergistic effect of green development in the industry, contribute to carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, and respond to climate change issues with the wisdom of China.
