30 % by 2033 - Rohrdorfer presents "Initiative 3033" for the expansion of renewable energies

The Rohrdorf group of companies intends to produce CO₂-neutral cement by 2038. In order for this goal to be achieved, the electricity supply must come from 100% renewable energies. In order to increase the pace of the switch to renewables and to achieve the highest possible degree of energy self-sufficiency, Rohrdorfer is pursuing ambitious expansion plans with the "Initiative 3033". By 2033, 30 % of the electricity required should be self-produced. The group of companies relies on a mix of photovoltaics (PV), waste heat and geothermal energy. Rohrdorfer Managing Director Mike Edelmann presented the 3033 initiative to the employees this morning via video message.

Decarbonization requires three times the amount of electricity

Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger described the decarbonization of the cement industry as a Herculean task on the occasion of his visit to the cement plant at the end of June. Should the full CO₂-Reduction succeed, the processes based on fossil energy must successively work with electricity - and this must of course be "green", i.e. come from renewable energy sources. Managing Director Mike Edelmann estimates the medium-term power requirements of the Rohrdorfer group of companies at 300 gigawatt hours per year. “In the Rohrdorf cement works alone, the demand for electricity will triple as part of the energy transition. If the cement industry is to survive, it is dependent on a very dynamic expansion of the power supply. With our 3033 initiative, we are sending a signal that we are not just waiting, but actively working on the solution,” says Mike Edelmann.

100 million euros investment for 100 MW peak output

Rohrdorfer is currently planning 44 PV projects with a peak output of 12.4 megawatts (MW), 22 of them in Austria, 18 in Germany and four in Italy. More than half are already in the construction phase. So far, due to the sometimes complex approval procedures, only roof areas and a few floor areas on the factory premises have been considered for PV systems. If wind power and floating photovoltaics are also included, 100 MW peak could be generated by 2033. A promising project, a floating PV system in Rohrdorfer Sand und Kieswerk Eichenkofen, has become uneconomical due to a new regulation that requires a distance of 50 meters between PV modules and the lake shore. "Unfortunately, the federal government's so-called Easter package slowed us down," explains Mike Edelmann. "With the floating PV system in Eichenkofen, our Sand and Gravel division could have covered all of its electricity needs. We would appreciate it if the approval procedures for floating PV systems, as well as for wind power, were simplified in Bavaria.”

At present, ten percent of the electricity requirements in the Rohrdorf group of companies are covered with self-generated renewable energy, for example through waste heat at the Rohrdorf site or through geothermal heat at the Dollnstein site. The investment sum to increase the proportion of self-generated electricity to 30 percent is around 100 million euros by 2033.

Region: Austria

Source: Rohrdorfer

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