Evonik reducing natural gas dependency

Evonik has made several moves to limit its dependence on Russian supplies of natural gas at its German sites. The company said that this is less of an issue in other countries but “in Germany, on the other hand, a loss of Russian gas supplies would seriously jeopardise chemical production”.

At the site in Marl, natural gas will be dispensed with. Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplied by BP from its refinery in Gelsenkirchen and as a by-product of C4 derivative production at Marl itself will be used in the new gas-fired power plant. The use of LPG is currently being tested in cooperation with Siemens Energy.

In addition, the planned shutdown of the coal-fired power plant in Marl this year will not now go ahead. Instead, the company will recruit the necessary personnel, invest in technical maintenance and secure coal supplies to ensure continued operation beyond this year.

The natural gas volumes released - equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 100,000 households - will be made available to replenish Germany’s natural gas storage facilities. Evonik has also identified measures to replace natural gas with fuel oil at its other German sites, such as Steinau, Essen, Krefeld, Lülsdorf and Wesseling. Investments have already been initiated.