What is the investment process of the factory (GTHR - Guotai-Huarong) in terms of obtaining the necessary environmental approvals and the safety of Godzikowice residents?
The investment process of our factory (GTHR - Guotai-Huarong) has been going on for more than a year. During this time, we have answered a number of very detailed questions addressed to us by all the authorities interested in the investment. As a reminder, the main task of these authorities is to take absolute care of safety and the environment. During this time we determined what fire protection and grounding systems we would use. These were prescribed by the authorities and designed and confirmed by certified institutions.
We have also taken a number of additional measures to address possible safety concerns, and our entire production process has been subjected to a HAZOP procedure by a certified Polish company. We are now at the end of the official road and our explanations have cleared up most of the previous doubts about possible risks.
How do you intend to dispose of unnecessary substances from production? What will happen to the substance 1,3-propane sultone?
Our production line is an airtight technology, and the processes inside are carried out in a nitrogen (inert gas) atmosphere. We will have a ventilation system and a VOC disposal system to collect all used gases and decompose organic substances into harmless substances. We will also have our own wastewater treatment plant to ensure effective treatment of these substances. Only in the next stage will we transfer them to the local wastewater treatment plant. Note that in the wastewater treatment process, 1,3-propane sultone completely disappears. No special chemical processes take place there except for the mixing of selected substances.
We will also implement all measures to prevent direct contact between employees and raw materials - this is our obligation under very strict regulations. Employees will have to undergo special training beforehand in order to work for us. The safety of people as well as the environment is of paramount importance to us.
What are the safety processes at a GTHR factory? Can failures occur in the factory?
We have been focusing on electrolyte production for more than 17 years, and the current factory has been operating without any problems since the beginning. No accident has ever occurred there. In addition, every employee at our factory in China is subject to systematic medical tests and examinations (at least once or twice a year), and the results have never shown any signs or symptoms to worry about. We will introduce similar checks in Poland.
At our factory in Godzikowice, we will design and build special structures for possible leaks for each container storing raw materials and products. We will also create a fire protection system, which will be designed and certified by Polish fire experts. Even if such an accident were to occur, the mixture of water and raw material would be collected by no-drain tanks and would be transferred to an emergency reservoir, and then degraded by a wastewater treatment plant.
Is the GTHR plant prepared for a potential industrial accident?
We have designed a full set of tools to manage safety in the event of such accidents, and have prepared a set of relevant rules and regulations, including a plan for on-site disposal of the substance. The storage capacity of raw materials will be completely controlled by specialized safety monitoring equipment.
Residents are protesting the construction of an electrolyte plant in Godzikowice, fearing the harmful processes that will take place there. Are their concerns justified?
Our production process for non-aqueous electrolyte mainly involves transferring and mixing various raw materials in nitrogen-confined lines, controlling the production procedure in a low-temperature environment, and finally delivering our product to customers. Along with the basic mixing process, an adsorption and filtration process is used to improve the quality of the product. As we have already mentioned, the production process in our plant is only physical mixing. We want to emphasize that chemical reactions will not take place here. As well as processes: high pressure and high temperature, which will never take place in our production.
According to informal information, one of the substances used will be nitrile from which, as a result of smoking, hydrogen cyanide is emitted. Is this true?
This is a very big misunderstanding. Our products will be supplied mainly to LG Chem, where they will be used in the production of batteries used in electric vehicles, which by their very nature do not require the inclusion of this substance. Nitrile is therefore a substance that is completely unnecessary for our process. As a result, nitrile is not among the substances we will use. We will never use it in Poland.
What GTHR's communication with residents will look like?
We are eager to communicate with everyone who is concerned about safety issues caused by the construction of our plant. We realize that a lack of communication and answers to safety-related questions lead to a lot of misunderstandings, so we will do everything we can to alleviate residents' concerns. In the future, both during construction and once work begins, we will want to show everyone interested in the details of the production taking place at our factory. On the other hand, there is really no cause for concern when it comes to environmental and human safety issues. The plans for our presence in Godzikowice are not only about production. We want to get involved in the daily life of the municipality and cooperate with residents on various local projects. We are already getting a lot of questions from residents about working at our factory, and we are very pleased with this interest. Once again, we would like to thank the authorities of Poland and the Oława municipality for inviting us to be here.
