Evonik to substitute 40% gas supply in Germany pending flow cuts from Russia
German chemical firm Evonik Industries says it is substituting up to 40% of natural gas at its domestic sites, as the energy-intensive sector prepares contingency plans in case of Russian gas supply cuts.
German chemical companies, which are highly dependent on Russian gas imports, are scrambling to prepare for further gas supply cuts in response to Western sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The most significant measure is being implemented at Evonik’s largest German site in Marl. In the new gas-fired power plant, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be used instead of natural gas to generate energy. This does not only secure the energy supply and thus continuation of production in Marl. The natural gas volumes released are available to replenish Germany’s natural gas storage facilities. Evonik is being supported in this by bp. The energy company is making an important contribution to the supply of LPG at the Marl site.
The specialty chemicals maker said it was successfully testing the use of LPG in close cooperation with Siemens Energy.
Evonik also said it was securing coal supplies for its coal-fired power plant in Marl after earlier plans to shut it down this year, and was seeking to ensure continued operation beyond 2022.
“By substituting natural gas with LPG and continuing to operate the coal-fired power plant, we can completely dispense with natural gas for energy supply at our largest German site in Marl – without any significant curtailments in production,” said Chief Executive Christian Kullmann, in a statement.
“The energy supply at our European sites is thus largely secured, even in the event of a Russian gas stop,” he added.
Evonik procures a total of around 15 terawatt hours (TWh) of natural gas per year worldwide, most of which is used for power and steam generation. Germany accounts for a good third of this. Energy supplies to Evonik sites outside Germany, for example, in Antwerp (Belgium), are largely independent of gas supplies from Russia. In Germany, on the other hand, a loss of Russian gas supplies would seriously jeopardize chemical production.
This risk is now being significantly reduced. LPG is a liquefied gas mainly comprising butane, unlike natural gas or LNG, which mainly comprises methane. LPG is a by-product of Evonik’s production network for C4 derivatives (Performance Intermediates) in Marl. It can also be procured on the market. Through the integrated network with the bp refinery in Gelsenkirchen (Germany), Evonik and bp can use their existing production, logistics and infrastructure to ensure an adequate supply of LPG in Marl.
The flexibility of being able to use both natural gas and LPG in Evonik’s new gas-fired power plant is now proving an advantage as well.
Evonik has also identified measures for the substitution of natural gas at its other German sites, such as Steinau, Essen, Krefeld, Lülsdorf and Wesseling. Here, natural gas is to be partially replaced by fuel oil. Corresponding investments have already been initiated, it added.
