Cogeneration in industry has a key role to play in reducing GHG emissions and can help the sector to stay competitive. The CHP plant at the Tata Chemicals Europe (TCE) in Cheshire, United Kingdom, is a great example. “The low carbon footprint is a great selling point to our customers, who quite rightly attach ever-increasing importance to maximizing the proportion of “green” products in their supply chain,” said Dr Martin Ashcroft, Managing Director at TCE.
 
Sector figures (1) show that the European chemicals industry makes up 20% of world chemicals sales in value terms and contributes 1.1% of EU’s GDP. As an energy intensive industry, one of the key factors for the sector to stay competitive is mitigating energy costs. This will be highlighted by TCE at the COGEN Europe Annual Conference in April. Dr Ashcroft continued saying that “TCE has utilised an industrial scale gas-fired CHP plant in Cheshire for over 12 years. It continues to deliver a secure and reliable supply of process heat and electric power, more economically than taking power from the grid and raising steam from conventional boilers. This has already delivered UK carbon savings of over 3 million tonnes of CO2, and over 7 million MWhrs of surplus electricity to the national grid.”
 
The installation of cogeneration is one of the most effective measures employed by the chemical sector to improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. The German chemicals sector, ranking 4th in the world in terms of production, meets a large share of its heat demand, up to 45 TWh, through CHP and district heating (2). In the United Kingdom 28% of the CHP capacity is installed in the chemical industry, with CHP plants generating 7,8 TWh electrical output and 15,2 TWh of heat output (3).
 
Tata Chemicals Europe and other industrial CHP users will present their business reasons for choosing cogeneration in their industrial process at the COGEN Europe Annual Conference (18-19 April in Brussels). More information on this event can be found on www.cogeneurope.eu.
 

For more information please contact:   
Dr Fiona Riddoch, Managing Director
Tel: +32 2 772 8290
Fax: + 32 2 772 5044
Email: fiona.riddoch@cogeneurope.eu

Stefan Craenen, Communications Manager
Tel: +32 2 772 8290
Fax: + 32 2 772 5044
Email: stefan.craenen@cogeneurope.eu

About cogeneration:
Cogeneration (also known as CHP or Combined Heat and Power) is the simultaneous production of heat and electricity. 11% of Europe’s electricity and associated heat requirements today are produced using this proven energy efficiency principle. The estimated growth potential for cogeneration is a further 110-120 GWe which will lead to an improved environment and greater economic competitiveness in Europe. Cogeneration units can be found in different sizes and applications: industry, households and tertiary sector and spans applications with capacities ranging from below 1kw to hundreds of Megawatts. It is a highly efficient energy solution that delivers energy savings and substantial reductions in CO2 emissions. When seriously supported, as in Denmark, CHP has the potential to increase the energy production and transformation system overall efficiency from a bare 33% (EU average) up to 65%. Realising the potential of cogeneration in Europe will contribute significantly to reaching the strategic climate and energy goals, such as security of supply, energy efficiency and reduction of emissions.
 
About COGEN Europe:
COGEN Europe is the European association for the promotion of cogeneration. We represent 70 organisations which are National COGEN Associations, manufacturers, users, utilities and service companies. Currently around 100,000 Europeans are employed in the cogeneration sector. More info on www.cogeneurope.eu