Green process heat for small and medium-sized enterprises

10/06/2023

Source: The Renewable Energy Agency

In 2020, about two-thirds of energy consumption in German industry came from process heat for production purposes. In the process, 68 percent of this heat was generated from fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, the switch to hydrogen is hardly feasible due to high costs and long implementation periods. The rising CO2 prices under the Fuel Emissions Trading Act (BEHG) and the uncertainty surrounding natural gas prices exacerbate the pressure on companies. Bioenergy offers a sustainable and regionally available alternative that is already well-established and does not burden CO2 prices.

Biogas and energy wood account for the majority of renewable thermal energy and enable high process temperatures in industrial applications. Compared to fossil natural gas, biogenic energy sources emit up to 90 percent less greenhouse gases. Bioenergy releases only the CO2 absorbed during plant growth and is based on sustainable forest management, which ensures that no more wood is removed than will grow back. Bioenergy emissions are mainly related to cultivation, harvesting, transport and processing of the energy sources. Modern wood-burning systems use mainly waste wood and by-products of the wood industry.

A new AEE background paper "Process heat from bioenergy - How small and medium-sized enterprises can decarbonize their production today" is available for download in the AEE Media Library .