RETHINKING THE ENERGY SUPPLY
Today’s energy and gas crises go hand-in-hand with increasing demands placed on companies to reach the aim of climate neutrality. The result: a far-reaching industrial transformation now hinges on the galvanizing industry. ZINKPOWER is meeting the challenge with maximized initiative and a conversion of two of its sites in Styria (Austria)!
ENERGY FROM HYDROPOWER
ZINKPOWER operates Austria’s largest galvanizing bath at its Sinabelkirchen site. This means that 600 tons of zinc must be kept continuously liquid at a minimum temperature of 450 degrees Celsius. To establish a more self-sufficient heating supply here while using the country’s natural energy sources, ZINKPOWER has invested heavily in retrofitting the galvanizing plant: since February 2023 our Sinabelkirchen site has been heated electrically with electricity from hydropower instead of gas.
An additional advantage: The use of CO2-neutral electricity leads to a reduction of CO2 emissions at the site by around 1,550 tons per year!
IMPROVING THE SUPPLY SECURITY BY USING BIOGAS
Although Austria was lately able to reduce its dependency on Russian natural gas considerably, the supply risks for Austrian companies in the industrials sector with respect to heating energy are persistently high. As the first hot dip galvanizer in Austria, ZINKPOWER uses bio methane at its Gratkorn site since September 2022 to cover their need in gas supply. This bio methane is produced in Austria’s largest biogas plant located in Margarethen am Moos. It is exclusively produced from agricultural waste material and has physical characteristics that are identical to those of natural gas.
This enables ZINKPOWER Gratkorn to currently cover its complete auxiliary need in gas with locally produced bio resources, which gives this site a pioneering role in the entire hot dip galvanizing industry.
Desired side effect: By using bio methane the carbon footprint in the plant could be reduced by more than 520 tons per year. This makes ZINKPOWER Gratkorn the hot dip galvanizer with the lowest carbon footprint in all of Austria!
These measures enable us to avoid in the Austrian Styria region 2070 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Pictures Copyright: Andrew Mayovskyy I Rike_