October 2018: German Energy Agency Inaugurates First Heat Recovery Flagship Project
October 2018
The commercial vehicle manufacturer Krone has inaugurated a new surface treatment facility that incorporates waste heat recovery technology. The center is one of 13 flagship waste heat recovery projects being supported by the German Energy Agency.
Krone’s new plant achieves fuel savings of almost 40% and reduces CO2 emissions by about 30%. The annual final energy consumption is expected to decrease by 12 GWh – the equivalent consumption of around 600 four-person households. The EUR 35 million investment is funded partly under Germany’s KfW development bank’s waste heat energy efficiency program.
The German Energy Agency supported the technical assessment of the waste heat recovery concept and the eligibility for funding. A number of measures to reduce waste heat were implemented. Waste heat that cannot not be avoided will to a large extent be recovered and reused in industrial processes within the company.
The agency notes that German companies could save up to 37 million tons of CO2 and around EUR 5 billion in energy costs annually by reducing and reusing waste heat. In 2017, the agency highlighted 13 particularly innovative or cost-effective industrial flagship projects for energy-efficient waste heat use. The flagships are role models for other businesses and together could save over 100,000 tons in CO2 emissions every year.
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