A better, sustainable future is possible – if we want it.
Then global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels must be stopped and reversed without further delays.
Can industrial companies spear-head this green transformation?
Yes we can!
Off the shelf technology can significantly reduce CO2 emissions already today.
Ideas to make a green conversion in your company
In less than 4 years, we have shifted our energy consumption so that we no longer use fossil fuels in our production or for heating. Our conversion rests on three pillars:
In the period from 2016 to 2020, we have invested in a series of green and more energy efficient solutions so that, at the end of 2020, we have:
2016:
We replaced all light sources with LED lighting which cut our consumption of electricity for that year by 20 %.
We purchased a fibre laser cutter which cost approx. 20 % more than a traditional CO2 laser cutter but consumes approx. 1/3 of the energy for the cutting process.
We purchased a bending machine with a higher output, but lower energy consumption due to a more intelligent control system.
We installed air curtain heaters above the sectional doors in the production areas. The heaters blow hot air over the door opening when the door is open. This curtain of hot air traps heat in the winter and also reduces draught in the production areas.
We replaced gas-fuelled forklift trucks with electric forklift trucks.
2017:
We started changing the heating in one of our production buildings to electric heating instead of gas.
We installed two solar panel systems which annually generate approx. 200 000 kWh.
2018:
We replaced the ventilation system in one of the offices so gas is no longer used for heating. Better ventilation control reduced power consumption.
We set up 10 charging points for electric cars.
We started selecting steel suppliers based on the CO2 emissions from the production of the steel and subsequent transport to our facility. Some steel mills emit approx. 3 times more CO2 when producing the same type of steel. We have decided to buy from the manufacturers with the lowest carbon emissions.
2019:
We replaced 4 fossil fuel cars with electric cars.
We built a new 2 500 m2 surface treatment facility. Green solutions were included in this project from the start. The building has extra insulation when comparing to the current regulatory requirements.
The heating for the painting process and the facility itself is generated by air-to-water electric heat pumps instead of gas (normally a requirement in the local zoning plan, but the municipality accepted that we do not use gas). This meant that we could withdraw an oil-fired boiler from use when the old spray paint booth was dismantled. This boiler used approx. 11 000 l of heating oil annually. Two heat exchangers recover
approx. 75 % of the heat from the painting process.
On the roof of the building, we installed our third solar panel system with an annual capacity of approx. 220 000 kWh.
We then installed our fourth solar panel system with an annual capacity of
approx. 180 000 kWh.
2020:
We installed our fifth solar panel system with an annual capacity of over 400 000 kWh. For this system, we completed all steel and installation works ourselves to keep the work in-house and use our own employees during the Covid-19 crisis.
We installed 5 batteries with a total capacity of 400 kWh so we can use solar power for operation at night and in the early morning hours when the sun is low in the sky. The system is designed to be expanded with another 7 batteries giving us sufficient capacity to run on batteries for one full day.
We replaced the remaining gas burners used for heating with heat pumps. This saves the burning of approx. 80 000 m3 of gas annually.
Financing
The total investment over 4 years is approx. 13 500 000 DKK.
The total annual savings on energy and reduced maintenance costs amount to
approx. 750 000 DKK.
The operating costs for electric cars are approx. 50 % lower per kilometre travelled when comparing to cars with combustion engines.
Next steps
We cooperate with suppliers to reduce the CO2 emissions from steel. For instance, we buy steel from steel mills with the lowest CO2 emissions per ton of steel produced.
We will increase our focus on minimizing the impact from transport on the climate. We use suppliers close to us which minimizes the carbon footprint from transport.
We will help developing techologies that minimize the carbon footprint from concrete.
We hope that your company can find specific ideas for your green convertion here.
Switching to 100 % green energy takes time and requires willpower and focus. For this reason, working with experienced partners is key.
If you find good suppliers, you will need to spend less man-hours internally on the green convertion and allow you to continue to focus on your core business. A relatively small investment of time and money will go a long way.
Below is a list of suppliers that we can recommend. Feel free to contact Hans Christensen, Managing Director, for further information.
The 5 batteries have a total capacity of 400 kWh. The batteries reduce fluctuations between the output from the solar panels and the energy consumption from the production. Excess energy is saved for night operation and for the first 3 hours of the workday when the power production from the solar panels is not yet enough to power the use in the factory.
The batteries are designed for installation outdoors. There are eight 10-kWh battery cell units in each cabinet. These battery units consist of lithium-ion batteries which are also used in modern electric cars. The battery cells are manufactured in England and the rest of the system including its software is produced in Denmark by Xolta - a division of Lithium Balance.
The battery system is scalable and we will expand the system with another 7 batteries in 2021 which will increase the total capacity to approx. 960 kWh.
The batteries not only enable Haarup Maskinfabrik to use our solar panels more efficiently, but they also support the stability of the public power network.
We use high-quality solar panels from LG manufactured in South Korea. The usable area on our roofs is limited. To maximize the use of this area, we have decided to install solar panels with a high output. LG solar panels come with a warranty of no less than 25 years. The optimal number to buy is a multiple of 650 panels which is the number of panels shipped in one container.
We use inverters from solaredge. They ensure optimal use of the solar panels and effectively cancel out the impact of any shadows on the panels.
All 5 systems have been designed, installed and maintained by Sveigaard, a small but highly competent company that handles both domestic and international projects. We are very satisfied with their work.
All our heat pumps are air-to-water heat pumps. They have replaced our gas burners and not only reduced our energy costs but have also cut our maintenance costs by more than 50 %.
For our spray paint booths, we have purchased two 200-kW heat pumps from DVI through Moldow, the supplier of the spray booths.
DVI energi (webpage in Danish)
We use 17 120-kW heat pumps from Vølund installed by Kjellerup VVS for the heating of our buildings.
Vølund Varmeteknik (webpage in Danish)
Kjellerup VVS (webpage in Danish)
Salten El supplied LED lighting and executed all electrical installation works.
Salten El (webpage in Danish)
Air curtain heaters above sectional doors are supplied by Stavoklima from the Czech Republic. Use electric heaters - not gas heaters.
Energy efficient fibre laser cutter and bending machine are supplied by Trumpf from Germany.
Electric cars and platform truck.
We use thousands of tons of steel every year. Steel production accounts for
approx. 8 % of the world's direct emissions of greenhouse gases through the burning of fossil fuels. On average, the emissions for each ton of steel produced amount to
1 800 kg CO2.
We buy steel from wholesalers and steel mills that can supply steel with the lowest emissions per ton of steel produced. At present, the lowest CO2 emissions that we have found are approx. 550 kg CO2 per ton of steel.
Luckily, there are steel mills that are fighting for the transition to a sustainable production. One example is a production method developed by the Swedish company SSAB where steel can be produced without any CO2 emissions. In the future, this technology will be introduced at all their mills worldwide. This will then push their competitors to also step up a gear. At Haarup, we will able to buy this type of steel already from 2025.
Unlike the transport of persons, the technological development for the transport of goods has not come very far. But it is moving forward! The first electric trucks with a reasonable range are slowly being introduced on the market. Here are some examples:
Scania trucks with a range of 250 km
Volvo trucks with a range of up to 300 km
While we wait for transport of goods using green energy, we will optimize our use of transport so that as little fuel as possible will be used.
Our own service vehicles run on diesel. As soon as we can buy an electric van with a range of 700 km that can be charged quickly, we will replace our service vehicles. Mercedes, just give us a call when you are ready!
When using air travel, we currently only have the option of using the most progressive airline. In our opinion, that is KLM.
