TenneT and Siemens Energy have signed an agreement to reduce their CO2 footprint at the Siemens transformer plant in Nuremberg.
A first milestone of the partnership is the production of transformers from 100% recycled copper.
From now on, Siemens Energy will produce all future transformers for TenneT with green copper.
By 2030, TenneT expects to have around 52 transformers from Siemens Energy, each of which will install 72 tonnes of recycled copper.
These transformers will help TenneT to significantly reduce CO2 emissions during grid expansion. Siemens Energy and TenneT can reduce 100 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions per transformer alone.
Together with other components, Siemens Energy and TenneT will save around 6,500 tonnes of CO2 by 2030 by using 100% recycled copper.
In the next step, TenneT and Siemens Energy want to develop further innovative solutions that reduce CO2emissions and protect the environment.
The goal of the partnership is to reduce the CO2emissions of TenneT and Siemens Energy by 30% in their value chain by 2030.
To achieve this goal, the two energy companies are focusing on innovative technologies, decarbonization of manufacturing processes and recycling of materials along their value chain.
Tim Meyerjürgens, chief operating officer of TenneT, said: “This partnership with Siemens Energy is a significant step towards a more sustainable future.
“Together, we can successively exploit the potential of the circular economy and develop a more climate-neutral product range.
“This expansion of the product portfolio is urgently needed to meet the high demand on the market for technical components such as transformers.
“This initiative will not only help us to drive grid expansion and keep the costs under control, but will also make an important contribution to climate protection.”
Tim Holt, member of the managing board of Siemens Energy, said: “In the global race against climate change, our efforts to expand the grids must be accompanied by determined efforts to decarbonise these grids.
“Only together can we achieve our climate and sustainability goals. That’s why partnerships like this one with TenneT are so important. Today’s signing is another important step in the fight against climate change.”
The extra-high-voltage grid is the backbone of the energy transition, transporting electricity generated from renewable energies to electricity consumers.
The grid expansion will make it possible to integrate more wind and solar energy into the grid and thus replace fossil fuels, the pair said.
To this end, the electricity grid must be brought up to date as quickly as possible at the transmission and distribution grid level, which makes it urgently necessary to modernise and expand the power lines and substations.
The grid expansion is a decisive step towards enabling the transition to a sustainable and climate-neutral energy future, they added.
At the same time, electricity grid operators need a large number of technical components for the expansion of their grids, such as steel pylons, conductors made of aluminum, underground cables with copper cores or transformers.
By 2045, around 12,000 kilometres of grid expansion and 73 new substations are planned for a climate neutrality grid in TenneT’s transmission grid alone. A further 16 substations need to be modernised.
In view of the huge grid expansion projects, more sustainable production of the necessary operating resources can also contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, raw materials and materials such as steel, copper, aluminum, concrete or plastics for the energy transition are becoming increasingly scarce.
In order to be able to meet the high demand on the market, the reprocessing of materials already in use is increasingly becoming the focus of the industry in the sense of a circular economy.
TenneT and Siemens Energy have set themselves the goal of improving their CO2 footprint by promoting climate-neutral supply chains and expanding their product portfolio for grid expansion by tapping into green raw materials.