Energy Strategy for a Major Biotech Facility
Bavaria, Germany
海角视频 partnered with one of the world鈥檚 leading biotech companies to explore strategic approaches for decarbonising its large-scale facility in Bavaria.
The site has a total energy demand exceeding 50MW, spanning steam, high-temperature, and low-temperature heat 鈥� all currently supplied by fossil fuels.
Challenge
The confidential client has ambitious decarbonisation targets, with a goal of achieving greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. The company is working rapidly to achieve this 鈥� with an additional goal of reducing its 2019 CO鈧� emissions 75% by 2029. The decarbonisation of the heat supply at its large site in Bavaria will play a key role in this transition.
海角视频 was commissioned to develop an energy concept that examines the transformation to a fossil-free heat supply, with the goal of finding new low carbon heat sources for the site.
This required our experts to collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to develop a comprehensive understanding of the site’s energy demands and existing supply systems. This included analysing how heat requirements vary throughout the year in response to fluctuations in site activity.
We would then be able to explore a range of scenarios for low carbon alternatives. One of the key challenges would be creating a detailed picture of how each of these different technologies would work within the context of the complex, including the geology and environment of the surrounding area.
The initial analysis would also need to examine how the carbon savings measures already initiated by the client would affect heat requirements in the coming years. This involved intensive consultation with the site’s Energy Supply department, with new technologies such as biomass boilers having recently been installed.
Solution
The site currently uses combined heat and power plants fired with natural gas alongside a biomass boiler to achieve the required steam demands for both industrial processes and heating. A high temperature heating network and a second low temperature heat network is supported by heat recovery from cooling systems.
After a detailed analysis of the existing supply system and heat demand, we looked at potential alternative energy sources and fuels. This included everything from ambient air heat pumps to extracting heat from nearby lakes and rivers or waste heat utilisation, through to classical and innovative deep geothermal technologies, as well as biomass, biogas, and hydrogen. From this overview, four prime target scenarios were selected, examined and compared in more detail. The target scenarios often combined different types of heat sources and fuels to make use of different strengths and mitigate weaknesses.
An assessment of classical, deep geothermal options found that the site would be outside of the geological area in which hot, deep ground water is reliably present.
Our experts turned to a more detailed study of the innovative Canadian Eavor loop technology, which drills a closed loop four kilometres deep beneath the ground then deflects to drill horizontally in order to create a 鈥渟ubterranean heat exchanger鈥�. Through the thermosiphon effect, the heated water naturally rises back to the surface, meaning that while capital expenditure would be high, operational expenditure in the longer term would be very low compared to other technologies.
Consequently, our study found that the use of this novel technology for deep geothermal energy represents the preferred option from economic, ecological, and technical perspectives, and will be explored further.
We also explored a second generation Eavor loop technology that would carry water even deeper into the ground, to depths of almost seven kilometres, to achieve higher temperatures. This would raise the returning water from 120掳C in the first iteration, to 200掳C 鈥� meaning this option could account for the site鈥檚 steam requirements as well as its low temperature heating.
Value
Our experts developed a detailed understanding of the requirements of the site and the potential of different low carbon heat technologies 鈥� carefully ranking them by their relative merits, to help to inform the client鈥檚 long term investment decisions around decarbonisation-focused technologies.
We advised on the integration of new forms of heat generation on the site, as well as looking at the economic considerations, both in terms of capital expenditures and operational expenditures 鈥� including implications around requirements to reinforce the grid connection in some scenarios.
For the profitability calculation, a discounted cash flow model was used that takes into account price increases for investments and energy sources. 海角视频 is also supporting the client鈥檚 application for Module 1 Federal Funding for Efficient Heat Networks as part of the project. This funding program not only helps meet the capital expenditure of innovative low carbon heat developments but also covers the feasibility study and system design.
