Bridgestone, a global tire manufacturing giant, has set itself the goal of becoming an “outstanding corporate citizen” by reducing its CO2 emissions by 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2050.1 With this goal in mind, Bridgestone undertook a large decarbonization project at its plant in Joliette, Québec.
A “Durable” Partnership
Collaboration and complementary expertise are key elements of success in projects like this. That is why Bridgestone has partnered with specialists like Ecosystem—a company specializing in decarbonization and energy projects—and Énergir—to support the project partners and ensure maximum financial assistance.
Efficient Measures
A series of energy optimization measures were implemented under this collaboration, with a primary focus on energy and heat recovery.
HVAC equipment integration into a centralized control platform to improve efficiency. In addition to the immediate energy gains, this measure facilitates preventive maintenance.
Heat energy recovery from the heat released into the atmosphere by electrical rooms and through the cooling of administration facilities. The recovered heat preheats the laboratories and other areas of the plant.
Heat recovery from the three steam boilers in the manufacturing plant. The vast majority of the recovered energy preheats the make-up air processed by the ventilation units. The rest preheats the combustion air for the boilers and the freshwater intake supply.
Heat recovery from the heat released to the atmosphere by the water tower cooling system for rubber compounding processes. Heat recovery from the plant’s compressed air cooling system. In both cases, the heat is routed to the make-up air units, reducing their natural gas consumption.
Ventilation optimization based on the air balance report and the plant’s airflow dynamics. This optimization also maximized the impact of heat recovery measures.
Impressive Results
When combined, these measures allowed the plant to reduce its annual natural gas consumption by 3,740,400 m3, cutting 7,060 tonnes of GHG emissions. These fossil fuel savings result in a 29% reduction in associated GHG emissions—a significant step towards meeting Bridgestone’s targets—while significantly reducing energy costs. By rallying stakeholders around an initiative that considered multiple interests (financial, operational, and environmental), Bridgestone leveraged interdepartmental collaboration at the plant to ensure the project’s success.
Focus on Renewable Energy
In addition to contributing to Bridgestone’s overall decarbonization targets, the project enabled the Joliette plant to become a model for the company’s other plants. In fact, it is now the plant that emits the least amount of CO2 and is the most efficient per unit of production in North America.
“One of Bridgestone’s goals is to help ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations. But our efforts to be carbon neutral, protect biodiversity, and reduce resource use don’t end there. We’re already studying other projects to further reduce our natural gas consumption and migrate to sustainable energy sources, such as renewable natural gas, hydroelectricity, or any other new technologies,” said Alexandra Lemay, Manager of Environment and OHS at the Bridgestone plant in Joliette.
Maximizing Savings Thanks to Énergir
For this project, the Bridgestone plant in Joliette received a total grant of $445,000 under the Implementation of Energy Efficiency Measures stream of Énergir’s Energy Efficiency Program – Energy Audit and Implementation.
More than 3.7 million m3 of natural gas saved
$445,000 grant from the Implementation stream of Énergir’s Energy Efficiency Program
“One of Bridgestone’s goals is to help ensure a healthy environment for current and future generations. But our efforts to be carbon neutral, protect biodiversity and reduce resource use don’t end there. We’re already studying other projects to further reduce our natural gas consumption and migrate to sustainable energy sources, such as renewable natural gas, hydroelectricity, or any other new technologies.”
Mélissa Théorêt.
Senior Advisor, Energy expertise
Donald Beverly.
Leader, Energy expertise
DATECH Group – Development and technical assistance
