In 2021, SWK E² worked with students from Faculty of Industrial Engineering 09 to investigate the possibilities of a climate-neutral and competitive food industry by 2030. The project was sponsored by VWI and the results have now been published in the VWI Focus Topic 2021.
Climate Neutral and Competitive Food Industry by 2030
Due to rising energy prices and ever new regulatory requirements, the pressure to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is increasing for companies in Germany, including in the food industry. In this focus topic, the options for implementing a climate-neutral operation were examined ecologically and economically. The specialisation of the investigation is on heat supply, as this requires a transformation on the company level. With the help of a greenhouse gas balance and a utility value analysis, a climate-neutral and competitive energy supply concept was developed as an example for three companies from the food industry.
By increasing the Energy Efficiency and an electrification of the heat supply (mainly with heat pumps), the primary energy demand can be reduced and an increase in energy costs can be (partly) compensated. Thus, an essential prerequisite for a climate-neutral and competitive food industry by 2030 is the availability of low-cost renewable electricity.
The VWI Fokusthema Volume 04 issue can be downloaded free of charge as a PDF here:
VWI Focus Topic Volume 04
