News
Cooperation between Stadtwerke Weinheim and the Freudenberg Group<
Weinheim, June 20, 2008: "Today we are embarking on an innovative public private partnership", said Dr. Martin Stark, a member of Management Board of Freudenberg. On Friday the company signed a contract with Stadtwerke Weinheim (Weinheim Municipal Utilities) for the supply of district heat. Stadtwerke Weinheim will be supplying the Technology Park in Weinheim with heat from Freudenberg's neighboring power plant. This solution will reduce CO2 emissions by around 40 percent compared with conventional heating by means of natural gas.
The project was presented by Dr. Martin Stark of the Management Board of Freudenberg, Peter Krämer of the Management Board of Stadtwerke Weinheim, Stefan Dallinger, Managing Director of Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH and Heiner Bernhard, Mayor of Weinheim.
Freudenberg will pipe the heat in the form of hot water to a transfer station in the Technology Park. From there, Stadtwerke Weinheim will distribute the heat to the companies located in the Technology Park. All in all, the partners will be investing around one million euros in providing the Technology Park with district heating and will complete the project without any financial aid from the state. There is no need for any further investment in power plant technology as the industrial power plant has sufficient capacity to cover the additional demand.
"Cooperation with Stadtwerke Weinheim is a good example of the excellent relationships that Freudenberg has with its neighbors, as enshrined in our corporate mission statement", said Dr. Martin Stark.
The two companies are entering new territory with this project. The efficiency of the power plant will be improved, and energy will be used as efficiently as possible. This will lead to improved fuel usage and will also help protect the environment. The companies located in the Technology Park will not have to invest in their own heating systems. Stadtwerke Weinheim opted for this approach even though the initial investment for conventional gas supplies for the Technology Park would have been lower. The decision means that customers will be provided with highly efficient eco-friendly heat.
Peter Krämer, one of the directors of Stadtwerke Weinheim, said that in view of the fact that renewable energy sources were not yet capable of fully covering demand at acceptable prices it was the duty of municipal utilities to use the available energy as efficiently as possible. He emphasized the local roots of these municipal utilities and added the following reminder: "It was always the local suppliers that looked after the interests of their customers so well, and that took up the challenge of protecting the environment". Stadtwerke Weinheim promotes innovative energy-efficient solutions such as hydroelectric power on the river Weschnitz, natural gas filling stations, photovoltaic systems and the use of infrared technology to search for heat leaks. Peter Krämer continued: "We have always set new standards, and once again we are doing so here in the Technology Park. This location is designed to attract modern high-tech companies. So it is only logical that the energy supply system meets the latest demands".
Weinheim's mayor Heiner Bernhard was pleased that Weinheim's geographic location placed it at the heart of the metropolitan region and that the Technology Park was the focus of such a project. He said that this innovative undertaking dovetailed neatly with Weinheim's profile as a commercial center of creativity and added that the partnership between Stadtwerke Weinheim, the Freudenberg Group and the city of Weinheim was a network that created a "win-win" situation. As the chairman of the supervisory board of Stadtwerke Weinheim he was also proud that Stadtwerke Weinheim had negotiated with a global player as equals. He praised the hard work of many other people in the city administration and reminded everyone of Weinheim's important claim to the future use of geothermal energy.
Freudenberg opted for eco-friendly technology for the power plant at a very early stage. The power/heat coupling system based on a combined gas and steam turbine process was modernized in 2005 at a cost of around ten million euros and is particularly efficient in its use of primary energy. Whereas almost two thirds of the heat produced in conventional power plants for generating electricity is lost to the environment as waste heat, the "waste product heat" is used here for production processes or for heating buildings. The primary energy efficiency of the industrial power plant is therefore as high as 85 percent. It makes sense therefore to use this environmentally friendly resource also in the neighboring Weinheim Technology Park. "The industrial power plant in Weinheim is an excellent example of our commitment to make careful and sustainable use of natural resources. We are by no means newcomers to climate protection; we have not adopted this important stance only since it has become ‘fashionable'. Between 1990 and 2005 the power plant reduced its CO2 emissions to less than half", said Dr. Martin Stark.
Weinheim Technology Park
Weinheim Technology Park covers an area of ten hectares and offers leading-edge national and international technology and service companies a premium site in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. A particularly attractive feature is the opportunity to make use of the technology and service infrastructure of the neighboring Weinheim industrial park, with services ranging from R&D to IT. This means that the companies in the new Technology Park can concentrate fully on their core business. Excellent transport links are another plus point as the park is located close to Frankfurt airport and the autobahn network. The company that runs the park, Technologiepark Weinheim KG, offers great flexibility in financing and plot development. It acts as the sales agent, rental agent, site developer and investor.
Go to www.technologiepark-weinheim.de for the latest information on the planned occupancy and the progress of construction work. The first visible example is the building for Vileda's headquarters.
The Freudenberg Weinheim industrial power plant
The power plant is the heart of the Weinheim industrial park and operates on the power/heat coupling principle. It therefore achieves a very high efficiency of up to 85 percent. For the companies in the industrial park this translates into economical energy with high reliability of supply. The power plant is operated by Freudenberg Service KG, which supplies the 40 production and service companies in the Weinheim industrial park with 100 million kWh of electricity a year - that corresponds to the electricity consumption of about 30,000 households. In addition, the energy experts at Freudenberg supply 300 million kWh of heat - enough to satisfy the needs of 19,000 households - and 22 million kWh of refrigeration per year, corresponding to the output of 19,000 domestic refrigerators.
Power generation
2 gas turbines and 2 steam turbines (total installed output 33 MW)
Annual output: 110,000 MWh
Steam generation
2 high-pressure boilers and 1 medium-pressure boiler (total installed output 155 t/h)
Annual output: 330,000 t
Refrigeration
2 absorption machines and 3 compression machines (total installed output 10 MW)
Annual output: 22,000 MWh
Compressed air production
8 air compressors (20,000 Nm3/h)
Annual output: 45,000,000 Nm3
About Freudenberg
Freudenberg is a family company offering its customers technically challenging product solutions and services. The Freudenberg Group is first and foremost a supplier specializing in seals and vibration control technology, nonwovens, lubricants and release agents. In addition, the Group has a presence in household products with the strong Vileda® brand as well as operating several service companies. The Freudenberg Group employs over 34,000 people in 53 countries and generates sales of more than 5 billion euros.
Cornelia Buchta-Noack
Freudenberg & Co. KG
Externe Kommunikation
Tel. +49 6201 80-4094
Fax +49 (0)6201 88 4094
cornelia.buchta-noack@freudenberg.de
Markus Rademacher
Freudenberg & Co. KG
Externe Kommunikation
Tel. +49 6201 80-4049
Fax +49 (0)6201 88 4094
markus.rademacher@freudenberg.de
Roland Kern
City of Weinheim
Press Center for the City of Weinheim and
Stadtwerke Weinheim GmbH
Tel.: +49 (0)6201 82390
r.kern@weinheim.de
Contact Freudenberg Group North America:
Cheryl Eberwein
47690 East Anchor Court
Plymouth, Mich. 48170-2455
Office: +1 (734) 354-5373
Cell: +1 (248) 767-1068
Fax: +1 (734) 451-0043