Energy company E.ON and flat glass leader AGC partner over waste heat recovery and production of green power

Energy company E.ON and flat glass leader AGC partner over waste heat recovery and production of green power

  • Partners complete renewable power supply agreement in France
  • Float glass plant in Seingbouse to be largely self-sufficient with green power from the sun and waste heat
  • Construction of further photovoltaic plants with up to 20 megawatts capacity planned in Hungary and the Czech Republic 

(PRESS RELEASE) ESSEN, 21-Apr-2022 — /EuropaWire/ — E.ON (ETR: EOAN), one of Europe’s largest operators of energy networks and energy infrastructure, has announced a new joint project for waste heat recovery and production of green power with AGC Glass Europe, the European branch of AGC, a world leader in flat glass. The project, located at AGC ‘s float glass plant in Seingbouse, France, will be developed, implemented, financed and operated by E.ON.

E.ON and AGC Glass Europe launched their partnership back in 2019 and have already implemented energy efficiency projects in various European countries. In addition, the construction of further photovoltaic plants with up to 20 megawatts capacity is planned in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Re-use of waste heat to produce CO2-neutral electricity

Waste heat is the world’s largest unused energy source. Around half of the heat used in industry is lost. It goes to waste, even though it is valuable. The heart of the glass production process is the float glass furnace which operates at high temperatures above 1,000°C. About 30 percent of the heat needed for the production process at the end is lost in the flue gas and remained so far unused. E.ON and AGC Glass Europe want to change that. At AGC’s production site in Seingbouse, this heat will be recovered to generate CO2-neutral electricity by implementing an innovative Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) plant with a capacity of 1.3 megawatts.

To further decarbonise, E.ON is also installing a photovoltaic power plant with a capacity of 2.7 megawatts on the factory’s premises. It will generate renewable electricity on a total of 27,000 square meters.

Green on-site PPA to reduce dependency from volatile energy markets

Combining the photovoltaic panels with the ORC power plant, E.ON will annually provide AGC with around 10 gigawatt hours of decarbonised electricity from 2023 on. This electricity is fully produced and consumed on AGC’s site and covers a large part of the electricity needs. On this basis, around 595 tons of CO2 are annually avoided.

Both parties have agreed to structure the project as PPA (Power Purchase Agreement), where E.ON will produce and sell electricity to AGC on a long-term basis at fixed price. This will allow AGC’s site to become largely independent of volatile energy markets. Additionally, the project does not require any investment from AGC, as it is financed by E.ON and supported by French Government as part of the “France Relance” plan set up by ADEME.

Marc Bartheld, Plant Manager AGC Seingbouse: “Our plant is one of AGC’s larger production lines for the building sector with a yearly production of 240,000 tons of float glass. Our goal is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent and our energy consumption by 20 percent by 2030. To achieve this, we are constantly working to improve the environmental performance of our production sites. The project in Seingbouse here in France is a perfect example of how E.ON can help us to not only achieve our sustainability goals, but also to secure the site’s long-term competitiveness.”

Guenther Schneider, Managing Director E.ON France: “Besides decarbonisation, security of supply and independence from volatile, commodity prices are becoming more and more crucial for our industrial customers in the current market environment. These targets can be achieved by consequently combining energy efficiency measures with the reuse of waste heat and locally produced green energy. Thanks to E.ON’s international presence, we can help AGC to implement this sustainability strategy in an efficient way across their European sites.”

The ORC project is funded with a grant as part of the French economic stimulus program “France Relance”. The program “France Relance”, operated by ADEME, helps to enable the decarbonization of the French industry.

AGC Glass Europe, a European leader in flat glass
Based in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), AGC Glass Europe produces, processes and distributes flat glass for the building and automotive industries, as well as the solar and high-tech sectors. It is the European branch of AGC, a world leader in flat glass. It has over 100 sites throughout Europe.

More information on https://www.agc-glass.eu

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by E.ON Group Management and other information currently available to E.ON. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. E.ON SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to align them to future events or developments.

Media contact:

Spokesperson
Isabel Reinhardt
isabel.reinhardt@eon.com
tel:+49 1736840253

SOURCE: E.ON SE

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