Decarbonization of Industry: Tion Renewables to Supply Salt And Chemicals Group Nobian With Green Electricity in Future

Munich, Germany / Amersfoort, Netherlands - The green power producer Tion Renewables and Nobian GmbH, a leading company in the production of salt, essential chemicals and energy storage caverns in Europe, have signed a power purchase agreement. Nobian intends to use the customized PPA to supply its electrolysis plant in Bitterfeld in eastern Germany.

Usually, PPAs are agreed for new plants and concluded over a period of 10 to 15 years to ensure long-term price security and financing. Under the agreement between Tion and Nobian, however, the green power producer will only provide the electricity from its operational portfolio for a shorter period of around three years at Nobian's request.

Individually scaled PPA with a term of three years

The green energy producer Tion Renewables focuses on the construction and operation of onshore wind and onshore solar parks as well as battery energy storage systems in Europe and generates renewable electricity on a daily basis, which is also marketed under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).

The agreement concluded between Tion Renewables and Nobian provides for Nobian to be supplied with green electricity from Tion Renewables' German wind portfolio between 2026 and 2028. For the green power producer, which is active in five European countries, individually scaled power purchase agreements such as the one now concluded are of central importance in order to optimize the marketing of its green electricity.

Nobian is supplied by an installed capacity of around 25 MW with an estimated production of 35 to 40 million kWh per year, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around 10,000 households. Through the PPA, Nobian aims to significantly reduce its Scope 2 emissions each year.

“In our company history of only five years, we already managed to realize customized short- and long-term Corporate PPAs with leading European corporates. The decisive factor to our success is that we not only steadily grow our portfolio, we also continuously diversify and thus optimize it,” says David Willemsen, Chief Commercial Officer of the Tion Renewables Group. This will make it possible to supply Nobian in eastern Germany with green electricity, Willemsen continued.

The PPA with Tion Renewables is therefore an important milestone for Nobian on its way to becoming carbon neutral with 100% renewable energy by 2040. Nobian produces high-purity vacuum salt by leaching. By electrolyzing brine, the company extracts the three main substances chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen from the salt.

“The volume will be allocated to Nobian’s electrolysis plant in Bitterfeld in eastern Germany, where it covers all electricity consumption during periods of high wind. Annually this is approximately 20–25% of the total energy consumption of that plant, expectedly saving scope 2 emissions by 20,000 tCO₂ per year,” says Johan Hospers, Director Energy at Nobian, welcoming the agreement.

Nobian intends to enter into further power purchase agreements in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark in the coming years to expand its renewable energy portfolio. This will help to produce low-carbon products by reducingCO₂ emissions in the production processes for salt, chlorine, caustic soda and hydrogen, the company said.

Background Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions and CO₂ substitution factor

Greenhouse gas emissions attributable to companies are divided into Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions. The Scope 2 emissions reported include all indirect emissions from energy that a company sources or purchases. The stated annual reduction in emissions of 20,000 tons ofCO₂ is based on the assumption that the electricity replaces the electricity generated with an average electricity grid factor in Germany of 0.474 kg CO₂/kWh.

Source: IWR Online, 21 Nov 2024