TAGS: Sustainability / Natural Coatings
OQ Chemicals switches to electricity from renewable sources, so-called green power on its path to becoming a climate neutral company, at its sites worldwide as part of its ‘reduce’ program.
End to Natural Gas Usage
The company has also stopped generating electricity from natural gas in its power plant at the Oberhausen site. Its locations in Monheim am Rhein, in Houston, Texas, and the Dutch production site in Amsterdam already use 100 percent green power.
At its other sites in Germany and the USA, OQ Chemicals will initially use green power certificates (Energy Attribute Certificates - EACs) during a transitional phase. In the medium term, the company intends to use only green power at all its locations worldwide. Furthermore, OQ Chemicals examines various options for producing CO2-neutral energy to secure demand.
“
Up to now, we have generated part of our electricity requirements at the Oberhausen site through natural gas-fired power generation. We will initially procure this share as well as the demand for our site in Marl with EACs, and later entirely as green power. The volume corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 8,000 German private households,” said Dr. Albrecht Schwerin, chief operating officer at OQ Chemicals.
“
In a very effective cycle, we generate the remaining electricity as well as steam and heat ourselves in our on-site power plant via highly efficient cogeneration, using waste gases, waste streams, and by-products generated during production. We feed part of the heat into the Oberhausen district heating network of energy provider Energieversorgung Oberhausen (evo),” added Schwerin.
“
The switch to green power is a small but effective building block in our global ‘reduce’ program, with which we are aiming for climate neutrality by mid-century. We work holistically and look at all areas - raw materials, production, and the end product. Achieving climate neutrality will be one of the most important goals for OQ Chemicals in the coming years,” commented OQ Chemicals’ CEO, Dr. Oliver Borgmeier.
Source: OQ Chemicals