Peter Greven
Oleochemicals
Chemicals
Germany
2026
Together with Peter Greven, we are building a power-to-heat system that draws on both on-site renewable electricity and flexibly sourced grid power to deliver process steam to production exactly when it is needed.
The project shows how energy-intensive industrial sites can future-proof their process heat supply — and paves the way for comparable solutions across industry.
Peter Greven GmbH & Co. KG is an international group in the oleochemicals sector. Founded in 1923 as a local soap factory, the company is still headquartered in Bad Münstereifel today. With additional production sites abroad and more than 350 employees, the Peter Greven Group ranks among the world’s leading manufacturers of oleochemical additives.
As a company whose products are based on natural, renewable raw materials, Peter Greven has always treated sustainability as central to how it operates. On its path to climate neutrality, the group pursues science-based climate targets published by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). By 2030, Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are to fall by 46 percent against 2019. Net-zero emissions are targeted at the headquarters in Bad Münstereifel by 2035 and group-wide by 2050.
With this project, we are taking a major step towards decarbonizing our Bad Münstereifel site. Electrifying steam generation with energy storage technology enables us to align renewable electricity with the requirements of our production processes. In ENERGYNEST, we have found an experienced partner that not only provides the necessary technology, but also integrates the individual components into an energy system tailored to our requirements. This combination of technological expertise and proven experience in delivering industrial projects was a key factor in our decision.”
Carsten Rader
Managing Director Technology, Peter Greven GmbH & Co. KG.
Process steam is essential to numerous production and processing steps at Peter Greven. Its supply has to follow production demand reliably at all times, regardless of when renewable electricity happens to be available. Until now, the process steam needed at the Bad Münstereifel site has been generated with natural gas.
To electrify its steam supply step by step and cut the associated CO2 emissions, Peter Greven needs a solution that decouples fluctuating electricity supply from the continuous delivery of process steam. Renewable electricity can then be used precisely when it is available and economically attractive.
The technology to electrify industrial heat is here. Now it is about deploying it at scale in industrial plants. That is exactly what we are doing with Peter Greven. We are not simply supplying a thermal energy storage system. We are delivering the energy system that turns renewable electricity into reliable process steam for production – from electric heating and energy storage through to integration into the steam supply. This is not a pilot project for a technology of tomorrow. It is industrial energy infrastructure that we can build today. Peter Greven is showing how industrial companies can replace fossil gas in their heat supply through electrification.”
Der Einsatz der Power-to-Heat-Lösung bietet zahlreiche Vorteile. So kann LEONHARD KURZ:
Laden: 34 bar, entwärmt
Entladen: 5 bar, Trockendampf
Durchflussmenge: 1 – 5 Tonnen/Std.
Kapazität: 5 Tonnen
Lebensdauer der Konstruktion: 200 000 Std.
Lade-/Entladezyklen: 462 000
Konstruktionscode: EN 13445 + PED-Richtlinie 2014/68/EU Cat IV, Mod G
Laden:
34 bar, entwärmt
Entladen:
5 bar, Trockendampf
Durchflussmenge:
1 – 5 Tonnen/Std.
Kapazität:
5 Tonnen
Lebensdauer der Konstruktion:
200 000 Std.
Lade-/Entladezyklen:
462 000
Konstruktionscode:
EN 13445 + PED-Richtlinie 2014/68/EU Cat IV, Mod G
The power-to-heat system combines a 6 MW electric heater, a 30 MWh high-temperature thermal storage unit with 15 ThermalBattery™ modules and a 2 MW electric steam boiler, enabling it to cover up to 100 percent of the process heat demand at the site.
The electricity required will come mainly from an adjacent photovoltaic plant and from renewable grid electricity. The new system converts it into heat whenever it is available, stores that energy and releases it to production on demand. This makes it possible to decouple electricity supply from steam generation and align both more closely with PV output, electricity prices and grid conditions.
Commissioning of the power-to-heat system with thermal storage
For the project “PV-Power2Process-Steam: on-demand process steam generation from volatile PV electricity”, Peter Greven is receiving around 5.83 million euros under the German federal Industry and Climate Action funding program (BIK), run by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The funding improves the economics of the investment and shortens the payback period. With the new energy supply, the company aims to lower its CO2 emissions and energy costs at the site over the long term, and to cut its use of natural gas.
Together with tesa, we are implementing a large-scale power-to-heat plant with integrated heat storage in Hamburg, which will provide a significant portion of the energy-intensive process steam generation in a climate-neutral manner in the future.
Together with LEONHARD KURZ, we are planning to implement the first power-to-heat system with thermal storage in Germany – in order to reduce emissions and promote the decarbonization of industry.
Integrating a 4 MWh ThermalBattery™, directly connecting to the steam grid at one of Yara’s international production facilities.
