Solvay starts up second biomass boiler in Rheinberg, phasing out thermal coal use

Solvay has announced the official start-up of the second biomass boiler at its soda ash and bicarbonate plant in Rheinberg, Germany, phasing out the plant’s use of thermal coal as an energy source.

With the commissioning of this new boiler, Rheinberg becomes one of the first soda ash plants in the world to use local waste wood as an energy source.

The two biomass boilers at the Rheinberg plant use waste wood from industrial and demolition residues, which otherwise could not be recycled, to produce steam and electricity, completely replacing the use of fossil fuels. This shift will reduce the plant’s annual CO2 emissions by 65% compared to 2021 levels. The system uses cogeneration technology, which achieves an efficiency of more than 90% by producing steam and electricity simultaneously. The transformation in Rheinberg is expected to reduce Solvay’s overall greenhouse gas emissions by 5% by 2025. This follows the official launch of the Regenerative Thermal Oxidation (RTO) process at Solvay’s Green River, Wyoming plant, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the group by an additional 4% by 2025.

“The cessation of coal in Rheinberg is an important step in Solvay’s global energy transition,” said Philippe Kehren, Solvay CEO. “Through 90 energy transition and energy efficiency projects around the world, we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Rheinberg’s transformation supports both our competitiveness and our long-term sustainable growth objectives.”

“With the commissioning of the second biomass boiler, Rheinberg has become completely coal-free. This strengthens our performance while meeting our customers’ expectations for sustainable operations,” added Etienne Galan, President of Solvay Soda Ash & Derivatives.

Since its founding in 1907, Solvay’s Rheinberg site has been a key supplier to key industries. As one of Solvay's nine soda ash and derivatives plants worldwide, the plant produces soda ash for glass, solar panels and lithium carbonate for electric vehicle batteries, as well as bicarbonate-based solutions for food, feed, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and air pollution control.