Waste heat plant produces certified green electricity

16.04.2025

Source: E & M powernews

Some of the electricity produced with waste heat from the cement plant in Rohrdorf, Bavaria, can now officially be marketed as green electricity.

An environmental expert has now officially confirmed this: Some of the electricity produced with the waste heat at the Rohrdorf cement plant is green electricity and can also be certified as such. "The certificate of origin issued by an environmental expert proves that around a third of the 18.3 million kWh of electricity produced at the power plant in 2024 comes from renewable energy," announced the cement manufacturer Rohrdorfer.

Around 6 million kWh of electricity was generated from biogenic sources at the Rohrdorfer "waste heat power plant". On an annual average, the biogenic share of the plant was 34 percent, the statement continued. This has now been confirmed by an environmental expert from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) in the form of a certificate of origin.

The electricity is generated from the waste heat power plant, where the heat generated during cement production is reused. Temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius are required in the production of cement. The plants have to be cooled accordingly. In Rohrdorf, the waste gas heat has been used to generate electricity for several years now.

By converting the waste heat into electricity, the cement plant generates up to a third of its total electricity consumption itself. The proportion of green electricity comes from the incineration of "paper, cardboard, cotton waste and old tires". The proportion of these biogenic fuels has risen steadily in recent years.

"The now officially recognized, environmentally friendly electricity production of our waste heat power plant is very good news," says Christopher Ehrenberg, Technical Manager of the Rohrdorf cement division. This is not only good for the environment, but is now "also a competitive advantage". The market for CO2-reduced building materials is growing noticeably, says Ehrenberg. The average proportion of biogenic fuels - and therefore green electricity production - is set to increase further by 2030.

The Rohrdorf cement plant is part of the Rohrdorfer Baustoff Group, which produces ready-mixed concrete, concrete products and precast concrete parts as well as sand and gravel in addition to cement. The site in Rohrdorf, near Rosenheim in Bavaria, produces various qualities of cement as well as various construction materials and aggregates.

Author: Stefan Sagmeister