CO2-neutrality through renewable energies, smart networking and demand side management
Top award for a beacon project of a special kind: Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, has now awarded the Bavarian Energy Award 2020 to the Alois Müller Group for its „CO2–neutral factory | Green Factory” at its headquarters in Ungerhausen (district of Unterallgäu). The 18,000 m² large and almost energy self-sufficient production and office building won in the category “Energy Distribution and Storage – Electricity, Heat”.
Andreas Müller, Managing Director of the Alois Müller Group, accepted the award in person in Munich. “We are very proud of this award, because ideas for intelligent and responsible use of energy are more important than ever. Fridays for Future, the Paris Climate Agreement or a possible CO2 tax in Germany – sustainability remains a top topic. And yet the switch to resource- and cost-efficient production is not as complicated as many people assume,” explained Müller at the award ceremony.
Bavaria’s Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger presents the award
Every two years the State of Bavaria awards the Bavarian Energy Prize for outstanding achievements in the field of energy. This year, 170 applications were submitted by companies, research institutes and organizations. The Ministry awards the prizes in a total of eight categories: Buildings as Energy System/Building Concept, Energy Production – Electricity, Heat, Energy Distribution and Storage – Electricity, Heat, Energy Efficiency in Industrial Processes and Production as well as Energy Efficiency Networks, Products and Applications, Municipal Energy Concepts, Initiatives/Educational Projects and Energy Research. The prize winners were selected by an independent jury of seven proven energy experts from various Bavarian universities in a multi-stage selection process.
The “CO2-neutral Factory | Green Factory” of the Alois Müller Group shows in an exemplary way how CO2-neutral production can be achieved through renewable energies, smart networking and demand side management. The green factory convinced the jury with a sustainable and energy-flexible concept that can also be implemented for other companies in Germany. The energy comes from a photovoltaic system, a combined heat and power plant and a pellet heating system powered by renewable resources. Different storage media compensate for possible fluctuations in generation. To ensure that the energy generated in a climate-friendly manner is used in the best possible way, the entire production process is geared to the generation of electricity.
Green Factory concept can be adapted
“Our Green Factory is so far unique in Germany – but it doesn’t have to stay that way. On the contrary: The concept of the Green Factory, i.e. the generation of solar power, the applied demand side management, the practiced sector coupling and the internal intelligent power grid, the so-called Smart Grid, can be adapted for almost all companies in Germany,” explains Müller. Companies that want to see for themselves can visit the Green Factory. “If required, we will also present all components with the necessary key figures,” Müller continues.
An important prerequisite for climate-neutral production is the analysis of all material and energy flows required for the production steps. An ERP system (ERP for Enterprise Resource Planning) is used to compare the order situation and production data with the regenerative energy data. Production steps are thus adapted to the availability of solar power.
The Alois Müller Group’s Green Factory has been in operation since summer 2019. In it, the Alois Müller Group manufactures ventilation ducts and supply engineering components for plant construction, such as piping systems made of steel and stainless steel, energy centers in container design and energy module systems. More than 250 people work on the premises in the production and administration areas. The Alois-Müller Group also operates its own electric filling station at the Ungerhausen site, which is also available to external vehicles.
Further information on the CO2-neutral Factory “Green Factory” in our Alois-Müller-Story Green Factory | Best-Practice in Ressource- and Cost Efficiency and in the VDI (ZRE) film „The CO2-neutral Factory“.