This article is also available in Italian / Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano

To become climate-positive by 2030 means to go beyond carbon neutrality and generate more clean energy than is needed. This is Henkel's goal. Globally, in 2023, the company raised the ratio of renewable energy used in its production facilities to 89%, aiming to reach 100% by 2030. Compared to 2010, CO2 emissions per tonne of product fell by 61%, getting closer to the -65% target set for 2025.

Energy saving in the production of detergents

The energy transition of production facilities sees Italy on the frontline. In Ferentino (in the Province of Frosinone), where the company produces dish and laundry cleaning products, a trigeneration system has been operational since 2007, which, thanks to a power input of 8.5 MW, generates approximately 3.5 MW of electricity and 3 MW of thermal power.

The yearly electricity output of the methane-powered trigeneration system is approximately 16.5 GWh and meets 90% of the site's demand. The remaining portion is currently purchased from the grid and offset through green certificates. However, more sustainable solutions are being explored.

The trigeneration system also provides 14 GWht of thermal power per year, equivalent to 55% of the site's consumption. Approximately 8 GWht comes in the form of steam, which is inputted into the facility's circuit to reduce the consumption of traditional boiler heathers, while a further 4 GWht comes in the form of hot water, for heating buildings and raw materials. In summer, when the heating is switched off, part of the heat is conveyed into an absorption system that serves to generate approximately 2 GWhf of cold water used in cooling systems.

Biogas for resins and adhesives

A very similar approach has been adopted in Casarile (Milan), a site dedicated to the production of industrial adhesives, particularly polyamides, epoxy resins, silicones, and protective coatings. Here, thanks to the trigeneration system, the Henkel plant is essentially self-sufficient in terms of energy.

Thanks to the combination of a gas trigeneration system, a biomass boiler, an absorber and cooling tower, and solar panels, the site meets 100% of its electricity (approximately 7 GWh) and heating needs (approximately 14 GWh), in addition to a 300 kWf cooling energy yield.

In Casarile, the trigeneration system is biogas-powered. As well as electricity, it generates thermal energy in the form of hot water, steam, and diathermic oil, for use in production reactors and space heating. Part of the heat travels through an absorption system to produce the required cooling energy for production cooling.

The trigeneration system is flanked by a biomass boiler, fuelled by wood processing waste, which generates further renewable thermal energy, and by solar panels, installed on the roofs of the laboratory and warehouse, and on the external rainwater collection tanks.

The two projects, implemented in collaboration with Sime Energia, are accompanied by a series of interventions to increase the energy efficiency of both sites and significantly lower their carbon footprint. The end goal is to generate excess clean energy compared to what is used, achieving a surplus.

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Image: Henkel