Huber Launching Sustainability Project with New Power Plant in Germany
The project consists of a proposed replacement of the current lignite power plant with a natural gas-fired co-generation power plant to produce 100% of the required steam and electricity demand for the Martinswerk site.
The Fire Retardant Additives (FRA) division of Huber Engineered Materials (HEM), a portfolio business of J.M. Huber Corp., recently announced it is preparing a plan for a sustainability project and substantial investment in a new power plant at its Martinswerk facility in Bergheim, Germany. The project consists of a proposed replacement of the current lignite power plant with a natural gas-fired co-generation power plant to produce 100% of the required steam (thermal energy) and electricity demand for the production site. Doing so is expected to result in significant sustainability benefits, including a 40% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, a 100% reduction of ash byproducts, and the elimination of daily lignite truck traffic to the site, which also decreases traffic and emissions throughout the local community.
The current lignite power plant was built in the 1950s and is still reliably producing the required steam and electricity for the Bergheim site. Because Germany is phasing out coal-fired power plants by 2038, it is no longer economically viable to make significant investments in the current lignite power plant required to support its long-term operation.