The topic of sustainability is on everyone's lips. Often, it remains lip service. This is not the case with HUESKER: We don't get tired and continue to push ourselves forward to save even more energy. In the meantime, the kilowatt hours saved are in the millions. And the path continues – until the CO2 footprint is balanced.
"We will save energy. On a grand scale." This was our guiding principle when we introduced our energy management system to the company in 2015. And as with every project we tackle, our energy team was very structured. In the beginning, there was a consistent analysis, accompanied by internal and external audits, in order to identify optimization potential. It quickly became clear to us that we could significantly reduce our CO2 footprint in all energy-related areas. From air conditioning to heating and from lighting to PV system incl. E-charging stations — each of our measures contributed to the success:
- Expansion of our energy monitoring system with 116 additional measuring points
- new air conditioning systems with environmentally friendly refrigerant
- Nationwide conversion to LED lighting
- Charging infrastructure for e-mobility at 3 locations (planning 2024)
- Installation of 2 PV systems with 1650kWp output
- an optimized drying process of our grids
- Renovation of our compressed air system in Dülmen, energy saving: 25 %
- Use of various highly efficient aids in the area of our compressed air – saving 70%
- Renewal of our heating system in Gescher, including intelligent control
- Partitioning off cold and warm areas thanks to high-speed doors in production
- Use of highly efficient heat pumps for building heating
- And many more projects...
We proudly present: Several million kilowatt hours saved
The fact is that since the introduction of the energy management system, several million kilowatt hours have been saved across all energy sources. In this way, our energy consumption has been reduced by 42% - as of 2022. Every year we set new standards. Compared to 2020 alone, we were able to reduce our consumption by a further 1.4 million kWh per year. Converted, this means almost 1000 tons of CO2 per year or more than 3,800 beech trees that would have to be planted annually.
TÜV-Nord certifies our success
As part of the recently completed monitoring audit of our energy and environmental management, our external auditors from TÜV-Nord drew a clear conclusion: "HUESKER Synthetic GmbH has achieved a great deal within the last 3 years and also has a large number of savings projects in the pipeline for the future. This means that HUESKER is currently clearly among the top 5% of all audited companies." A result we are proud of – the success spurs us on to raise the bar even higher!
No fossil fuels at HUESKER
We are currently expanding our PV system in Dülmen and providing the connection to the plant on the opposite side of the street. To illustrate: Our PV systems extend over 7,500 square meters - about a football field and enough power to supply our sites in Gescher and Dülmen with green electricity during the day. Okay, we still have some obstacles to overcome on our way to CO2 neutrality. In particular, the high process temperatures are currently difficult to achieve with a sustainable generation unit. That's why we're consciously focusing on future-oriented high-temperature heat pumps and, in the long term, probably also on green hydrogen. This is not yet certain. We'll have to wait and see what happens in research and technology. But one thing is guaranteed after 8 years of consistently implemented energy policy: We will achieve our goal – maximum CO2 savings and energy efficiency at HUESKER.
Yours, Kai