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Business of climate change
Business

Alibaba’s artificial intelligence tool to improve efficiency of China’s waste-to-energy plants

  • Alibaba Cloud’s AI algorithm, currently deployed in 100 waste-burning facilities in 30 Chinese cities, will be installed in 300 more plants by the year-end
  • China’s waste-to-energy capacity, the world’s largest, is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 29 per cent

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The Gaoantun waste-to-energy plant in Beijing. China processes 580,000 tonnes of waste a day at more than 100 such plants spread across the country. Photo: Tom Wang
Yujie Xue

Alibaba Cloud is deploying artificial intelligence to make waste incineration more energy efficient in China, supporting the nation’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2060.

The AI algorithm developed by Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud service unit is currently used in 100 waste-burning facilities spread across 30 cities on the mainland. It will be installed in another 300 plants by the end of the year.

The installation of Alibaba’s AI platform can lead to the generation of an additional 360 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year from the 100 waste-burning facilities across China, enough to power 33,600 American households, according to Alibaba Cloud.

“Through automation, we’ve changed how garbage treatment plants operate, [to] reduce work pressure on the operators, slash environmental pollution and lower costs for equipment maintenance,” said Zeng Zhenyu, vice-president of Alibaba Cloud.

Alibaba Cloud says its AI platform can lead to an additional 360 million kWh of electricity generation a year from the over 100 waste-burning facilities across China. Photo: Shutterstock
Alibaba Cloud says its AI platform can lead to an additional 360 million kWh of electricity generation a year from the over 100 waste-burning facilities across China. Photo: Shutterstock

Solid waste disposal has been a perennial problem for Chinese cities over the years. The nation of 1.4 billion people produced around 235.1 million tonnes of solid waste in 2020, and is on pace to generate 326 million tonnes by 2030.

Faced with ever-growing mounds of garbage and many landfills reaching capacity much earlier than expected, garbage disposal through waste-to-energy plants is an important tool to tackle waste.

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