Green electricity for WACKER Chemie using Bavarian hydropower from VERBUND
25.06.2024Munich/Vienna
Wacker Chemie AG has signed a long-term supply contract with VERBUND, Austria’s leading energy company and one of Europe’s largest generators of electricity from hydropower, to supply the Burghausen production site with hydroelectric power. This means that part of the energy requirement will be generated regionally and renewably in future. An important step towards net zero emissions.
VERBUND will provide WACKER with a capacity of 10 MW between 2028 and 2032, which corresponds to 87,600 MWh of regional green electricity per year from existing Bavarian hydropower plants on the river Inn. The two companies have concluded a corresponding power purchase agreement (PPA) to this effect. The agreement contributes to WACKER’s strategy of meeting more of its electricity needs at its sites from renewable sources.
The Burghausen plant is the most important production site in the WACKER Group and also the largest chemical site in Bavaria. More than 8,000 people are employed there in 150 production plants. The products manufactured range from polysilicon, silicones, silanes and silicas to dispersions and dispersible polymer powders as well as basic materials for the chemical industry. The site consumed around 2.8 terawatt hours of electricity for energy-intensive production in 2023. Hydropower from the WACKER-owned Alzwerke power plant has been contributing to the plant’s energy supply since its establishment in 1914. The additional volumes now agreed will come from VERBUND’s existing hydropower plants in Nußdorf am Inn and Passau. VERBUND is the second largest producer of electricity from hydropower in Germany and operates a total of 130 hydropower plants in Austria and Bavaria with a total output of over 8,400 megawatts and an annual electricity production of over 30 terawatt hours.
Martin Wagner, Managing Director of VERBUND Energy4Business GmbH, commented positively on the deal’s conclusion: “The increasing demand for sustainable electricity is a clear trend and a necessity in order to make further progress in terms of energy efficiency and climate protection. Our green electricity solutions are particularly effective in achieving sustainability and climate targets in the chemical industry. We are delighted that this PPA will enable us to help technology leader WACKER Chemie reduce its carbon footprint and that we are taking a joint step towards the energy transition in Bavaria in this way.”
The history of the hydroelectric power plants on the Inn shows that many of these power plants were originally built to supply the energy-intensive industry in south-east Bavaria. Both companies are pleased that the PPA has revived this old basic idea of hydropower on the Inn, which symbolises a certain security of supply and reliability.
The Burghausen plant is the most important production site in the WACKER Group and also the largest chemical site in Bavaria. More than 8,000 people are employed there in 150 production plants. The products manufactured range from polysilicon, silicones, silanes and silicas to dispersions and dispersible polymer powders as well as basic materials for the chemical industry. The site consumed around 2.8 terawatt hours of electricity for energy-intensive production in 2023. Hydropower from the WACKER-owned Alzwerke power plant has been contributing to the plant’s energy supply since its establishment in 1914. The additional volumes now agreed will come from VERBUND’s existing hydropower plants in Nußdorf am Inn and Passau. VERBUND is the second largest producer of electricity from hydropower in Germany and operates a total of 130 hydropower plants in Austria and Bavaria with a total output of over 8,400 megawatts and an annual electricity production of over 30 terawatt hours.
Energy transition in Bavaria: VERBUND supporting WACKER in reducing emissions
“We have set ourselves ambitious targets for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. By 2030, we want to halve our direct emissions and emissions from energy procurement compared to 2020. The use of water, wind and sun as renewable energy sources is essential for this. We are therefore all the more pleased about the agreement with VERBUND for the supply of electricity generated from renewables. It is an important lever for achieving our sustainability goals,” says Peter von Zumbusch, Plant Manager Burghausen.Martin Wagner, Managing Director of VERBUND Energy4Business GmbH, commented positively on the deal’s conclusion: “The increasing demand for sustainable electricity is a clear trend and a necessity in order to make further progress in terms of energy efficiency and climate protection. Our green electricity solutions are particularly effective in achieving sustainability and climate targets in the chemical industry. We are delighted that this PPA will enable us to help technology leader WACKER Chemie reduce its carbon footprint and that we are taking a joint step towards the energy transition in Bavaria in this way.”
The history of the hydroelectric power plants on the Inn shows that many of these power plants were originally built to supply the energy-intensive industry in south-east Bavaria. Both companies are pleased that the PPA has revived this old basic idea of hydropower on the Inn, which symbolises a certain security of supply and reliability.
