Net Zero Factory: Customized decarbonization paths to make the need a competitive advantage

The path to a climate-neutral society is associated with major challenges. For the industrial sector alone, the BDI study "Climate pathways 2.0", which has just been published, estimates the investments needed to achieve climate neutrality to be around EUR 860 billion by 2030. The positive news: More and more companies are actively taking responsibility for climate protection and are pursuing ambitious CO₂ targets with ambitious sustainability programs. This leads to the exciting question of how companies can fulfill and implement their climate protection promises – especially through specific projects and measures at the individual production or industrial locations.

Very often, the starting point is merely general targets and timelines for sustainability or decarbonization, which need to be brought to life in a meaningful way within the context of the respective local circumstances and opportunities. However, ambitious goals cannot be achieved  with individual  measures or individual technology analysis. A specialized, external service provider can provide support at this point and evaluate the most efficient procedure. In this context, comprehensive, future-proof advice, planning and analysis are essential for a climate-friendly and, above all, economically sustainable decarbonization process that

Decarbonization of production and commercial sites requires a holistic consulting and planning concept

The path to a CO₂-neutral operation is linked to countless variables, which have a decisive influence on the possibilities for planning and implementing on-site measures. The focus here is first of all on setting a binding CO₂ target in terms of time, against which an individual roadmap is aligned. For example, should high savings targets be achieved in a short time? Or is there a longer period of time available in which future technologies can be taken more into account?

In addition, there are a number of other factors: What investment and financing options exist, over what time frame and with what boundary conditions? What about energy efficiency on the ground? Which potentials can be tapped, which in turn have an influence on the dimensioning of future generation plants? How much energy will be needed for which processes, now and in the future? What is the potential in the generation and use of green electricity and green heat? Are there, for example, more recent generation plants, such as CHPs, which are worth switching to biogas or  green  hydrogen? How and to what extent can old, CO₂-intensive generation plants be usefully replaced by a combination of sustainable technologies? To what extent is the use of carbon capture technologies an option? And: in what order and in what context should which combination of which technologies be used to implement an optimized system overall?

In principle, it can be stated: Even identical locations or identical production sites have different requirements, which must be taken into account in the consultation and for the creation of an individual roadmap. In addition to climatic conditions, these include national and regional support measures that favor the implementation of certain measures, or the consideration of various scenarios for the price development of CO₂ and various energy sources.

"NetZero Factory" – in five steps to an optimized decarbonization roadmap

With the holistic "Net Zero Factory" consulting approach, ENGIE Impact pursues the goal of making the transition not only environmentally sustainable but also cost-efficient. Based on experience gained in supporting global CO₂ savings projects, we have established a five-step model. This gives the clients a clear vision of how their sites must develop in the future in order to achieve the CO₂ targets they are aiming for while producing and using media as economically as possible:

• joint discussion and definition of objectives and success criteria
• detailed technical analysis of existing assets with joint assessment of the site potential for emissions reduction
• Simulation of various scenarios and options for the determination of suitable paths for decarbonization and joint development of a technical optimum
• Optionally, a joint review of financing models for the planned investments and the reduction of financial risks, for example through direct financing by ENGIE or cooperation  with contracting partners
• Creation of a workable roadmap including definition, prioritization and planning of all necessary project activities to implement the preferred decarbonization path

Cost-effective transition to a future-proof system with a clear timetable

A central element of the "Net Zero Factory" approach is the conception of a future-proof plant by identifying individually tailored technology and plant decisions along the entire process. Good to know: The roadmap, which defines clear steps and milestones for the transition, also takes into account next-generation technologies and innovations and their predicted cost development, as well as the development plans for the plant itself.

Insight: Simulation with "Prosumer" for customized paths to decarbonization

As a core element of the "Net Zero Factory" approach, ENGIE Impact uses a specially developed, flexible simulation tool for optimizing decarbonization paths and their investment requirements with the analysis platform "Prosumer". The basis of the optimization is to record the actual state of the object as accurately as possible in order to generate a digital twin. Therefore, in addition to the data of the actual assets of the media supply at the location, the tool records in detail the existing load profiles based on high-frequency data streams.

From PV systems and wood pellet boilers to high temperature heat pumps   and battery solutions to biomass and green hydrogen: For the simulation of the roadmaps, the "Prosumer" tool has an extensive database of systems and technologies that can be considered for media supply in the future, according to the requirements. When along the roadmap a technology change ideally takes place, in which form and with which generation capacities ideally takes place, depends very strongly on possible or already planned energy efficiency measures, which are taken into account in the tool accordingly and which tie in with the detailed analysis of the site carried out at the beginning. The same also applies to possible subsidy programs which can be incorporated into the simulation tool depending on the location and conditions of the location.

With "Prosumer" optimally prepared for different scenarios

The high flexibility of "Prosumer" and the competence of ENGIE Impact become apparent when other variables such as future price expectations come into play. Depending on the forecast, such as the future development of electricity and gas or CO₂ prices, the simulation tool plays through various scenarios. The result is a customized roadmap for optimal system configuration with a focus on minimizing total cost of ownership (TCO) over the lifetime of the assets.