BMW Group Plant Steyr is switching entirely to district heating for warmth: in regular operations the Austrian engine facility no longer uses natural gas, relying instead on heat from a nearby biomass powerplant.
“By switching to 100 percent heat from regenerative biomass, we are taking a major step today. Our plant now sources both its electricity and its heat for regular operations from renewables.” – BMW Group Steyr Plant Director, Klaus von Moltke.
The switch would not have been possible without a strong partner in the region: BMW Group Plant Steyr now sources its heat from the biomass powerplant of Fernwärme Steyr, just under a kilometre away. This is operated by the state’s two energy providers – Energie AG Oberösterreich Erzeugung GmbH and EVN Wärme GmbH – in their joint subsidiary, Bioenergie Steyr GmbH. To provide the heat energy that Plant Steyr needs, an additional heat generation plant with a 10-megawatt biomass boiler is being erected at the site. So, Plant Steyr will source its heat from renewable resources: wood chips from the surrounding forests.
The symbolic energy switch took place on stage as more than a thousand employees looked on. In his keynote, Arnold Schwarzenegger called on everyone present to act on climate change. Schwarzenegger previously shared in an interview how technology will bring us joy in the future and why sustainability plays a defining role for him. He then shut down the plant’s gas supply as Milan Nedeljković, Board Member for Production at BMW AG, symbolically turned on the final expansion to the district heating supply. The change of energy source marks yet another step in the BMW Group’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.
Arnold Schwarzenegger then joined Klaus von Moltke and Milan Nedeljcović for a tour of the training and education centre, engine assembly and BMW Group Plant Steyr’s recently opened electric motor production line, chatting with employees as he went.
Read the full press release here.
Tags: production Steyr sustainability