Making better use of the energy potential of industry
The city of Ludwigshafen am Rhein uses the know-how and energy potential of industry for a sustainable heating strategy. By 2045, district heating is to supply half of the households in the city area with climate-friendly waste, geothermal and environmental heat.
19.06.2024 – Ludwigshafen am Rhein is best known as a major industrial location. As the largest city in the Palatinate, Ludwigshafen faces the challenge of mastering the local energy transition and at the same time ensuring the competitiveness of the region in cooperation with the local industry. To accomplish this task, the stakeholders are also using the energy potential of BASF's chemical plants for heat supply and future mobility in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, reports the Renewable Energy Agency (AEE), and has included the city in its ranks of energy municipalities.
As a major city, Ludwigshafen must draw up a municipal heat plan by mid-2026. The administration began to do so several months before the law was passed, which makes this mandatory. As with so many projects, the city is working with its subsidiary, Technische Werke Ludwigshafen (TWL), on municipal heat planning. As municipal utilities, TWL can provide important data on energy forms, demand and potentials and also forecast the future local energy system, according to the award. By 2045, district heating is to supply half of the households in the city area with waste, geothermal and environmental heat. The focus is on the expansion of district heating networks and the use of large heat pumps.
Climate Protection Unit
Since 2022, the newly established Climate Protection Unit has been coordinating the city's climate protection measures. These included, among other things, a guideline for the climate-neutral and even climate-positive design of municipal buildings, for example through the use of photovoltaics (PV) and thermal solar systems, as well as the Green City Master Plan of 2018. This is intended to make public transport and cycling efficient and attractive, the stakeholders report. This also includes the conversion of the municipal vehicle fleet to electric vehicles and the installation of charging points.
"The well-coordinated cooperation of local actors is crucial for a successful energy transition on the ground. In Ludwigshafen, of course, there is no way around the chemical plants, which in turn will also benefit economically from the use of renewable energies," says AEE Managing Director Robert Brandt.
Climate neutrality by 2050 – with renewables and green hydrogen
The chemical company BASF, which employs over 40,000 people at its main plant in Ludwigshafen, plays a key role in the decarbonization of industry. BASF says it is aiming for climate neutrality by 2050, focusing on the electrification of production and the use of renewable energy sources such as green hydrogen. The company plans to build a solar park with a capacity of up to 130 megawatt peak on an area of 100 hectares north of the plant site. The climate-friendly electricity is also to be used for the region's heat supply.
Using waste heat
In addition to the planned energy production, the use of previously lost heat from the plant's own sewage treatment plant is also an approach for cooperation between local stakeholders. With around 300,000 liters of discharge per day, BASF's wastewater treatment plant is one of the largest plants in Europe. The wastewater produced offers a non-negligible heat potential and could supply around 18,000 households with a total output of around 50 megawatts. BASF also announced its intention to make H2 available for the transport turnaround in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region.
Development of innovative technologies
Ludwigshafen has a long tradition of developing innovative technologies, reports the AEE. The city is also home to companies that are world leaders in the production of insulation materials. Pilot projects such as Europe's first existing 3-litre house, 1-litre houses, zero-litre office buildings and the zero-heating cost house in Ludwigshafen made headlines many years ago, reports the AEE. Findings on sustainable construction were also the aim of a long-term study in the energy-efficient modernised Brunckviertel. A ten-year monitoring process shows data on structural condition, energy saving, economy, ecology and living comfort.
Innovative hybrid power plant
In 2018, Technische Werke Ludwigshafen also caused a sensation nationwide. In order to compensate for natural fluctuations of wind and solar energy in the distribution grid and to contribute to a stable power supply, TWL developed a hybrid power plant that combines a battery storage system with a capacity of 9.6 MW and a gas turbine with a capacity of 4.5 MW, the AEE further reports. While the storage system ensures rapid energy availability, the turbine ensures a long capacity. Specially developed software controls the interaction and thus the reaction to grid fluctuations. The software also ensures that the energy can be used as efficiently as possible and connects other components of the hybrid power plant, including a power-to-heat system, according to the report. well
The detailed portrait of the Energy Municipality of the Month Ludwigshafen can be found here