Annual Report 2023

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Creating tomorrow’s solutions

Energy

| GRI 302-1 | GRI 302-3.3 | GRI 302-4 |

WACKER is constantly improving the energy efficiency of its processes. This enables us to remain globally competitive and at the same time contribute to climate protection.

Many chemical reactions generate heat that can be put to use in other production processes. In addition to recovering heat from these reactions, we also operate integrated heat-recovery systems, which we are continually developing and improving. In this way, we reduce the amount of primary energy (natural gas) consumed by our power plants. We are also continually optimizing our electricity consumption.

At this point, we still rely primarily on natural gas to generate electricity. At Burghausen, our largest site, we produce steam and electricity in a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The site’s highly efficient, low-emission gas turbine can generate up to 137 megawatts of electricity. Combining this plant with the output of Burghausen’s hydroelectric plant and that of smaller generation facilities, we produced 1,130 GWh of our electricity ourselves in the reporting year (2022: 1,166 GWh), which corresponds to roughly 20 percent of our total electricity demand. With an output of 50 megawatts, our hydropower generator is one of Germany’s biggest industrial hydroelectric power plants. In keeping with its sustainability strategy, WACKER plans to further reduce its energy and gas consumption by pursuing energy-efficiency initiatives (e.g. electrifying steam generation).

Group Energy Consumption

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GWh

 

2023

 

2022

 

2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Electricity consumption

 

5,749

 

6,024

 

5,974

Of which

 

 

 

 

 

 

From on-site generation (fossil)

 

897

 

948

 

1,063

From on-site generation (renewable)

 

233

 

218

 

232

Energy consumption1

 

5,814

 

5,927

 

6,010

Of which

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natural gas2, 3

 

4,183

 

4,290

 

4,424

Solid fuels4

 

1,320

 

1,336

 

1,297

Heat supplied by third parties5

 

311

 

301

 

289

1

Excluding energy from electricity provided by third parties, self-generated renewable energy and recovered energy.

2

Includes natural gas used for on-site fossil-fuel-based electricity generation.

3

For reporting years beginning in 2020, heat consumption is no longer itemized separately; most of it is contained in the figure for natural gas consumption.

4

Coal, charcoal and wood; used as reducing agents at the silicon plant in Holla, Norway.

5

Steam and district heating.

Energy Consumption

In our continued efforts to reduce our specific energy consumption (the amount of energy per unit of net production output), we have set a target of cutting consumption by 15 percent by 2030 relative to our base year (2020).

2030 Target: Reduce Specific Energy Consumption by 15%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2023

 

2022

 

2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Specific energy consumption (%)

 

102.9

 

98.5

 

98.3

Change in % (vs. 2020)

 

2.9

 

-1.5

 

-1.7

With specific energy consumption 3 percent up relative to 2020, reductions in the reporting year were above the trajectory that had been mapped out. Despite energy savings, the substantial decline in plant-utilization rates and hence the lower unit of net production output, as well as the process of switching over to more energy-intensive products, have an adverse impact on the target value.