Renewable fuels

An innovative emphasis

fuel-wood plantation Fuel-wood plantations: Access to renewable biogenic fuels – especially wood – is an essential success factor for us. Their procurement is therefore an integral part of our value chain. As general coordinators, we control the handling, processing, material planning, transportation and use of wood in a way that meets the demands and needs of the market.
However, we do not limit ourselves to existing market capacities. We have also developed several new international models for the used wood market, and we have also set some forward-looking accents with regard to green wood, where we use our expertise for the development of new market segments. This includes the extraction of residual forestry wood and the creation of fuel-wood plantations.

Used wood from recycled stocks

As part of our growth strategy we will focus our used wood activities on untreated and uncontaminated wood fractions. This segment is set to become an important pillar of our operations, both in Germany and in other European countries. One major benefit of used wood is what we call “cascaded use” whereby the timber is not used for energy production until it has been used as material. The waste wood we use at our existing facilities in Kehl, Berlin and Bergkamen is in categories AI to AIV. As this also includes contaminated wood, these plants satisfy the strict requirements specified in the 17th Ordinance Implementing the Federal Immission Control Act.

Using residual forestry wood

Windthrow areas Windthrow areas: Residual forestry wood and forestry biomass are largely an unused source of energy. The material – treetops, brushwood and branches – is the result of regular thinning work, although it also occurs in windthrow areas and after the clearance of building sites. It can be used as wood chips for power generation at our biomass plants. We are currently working on the development of these resources with the German state of North-Rhine Westphalia. One aim of this joint initiative is to strengthen the creation of value in the rural timber industry. When harvesting residual forestry wood, we take our cue from the ecological principles of sustainable forest management. These are set down in the German Federal Forestry Act and in a range of German state acts. Moreover, when we harvest such material, a large part of the biomass stays within woodlands – especially needles, leaves and fine brushwood. These are the elements that store most of the nutrients of a tree, thus counteracting any nutrient removal that takes place in other ways.

Use of landscape conservation wood

Green wood of this kind is supplied by fuel wood producers and municipal waste disposal companies as well as by gardening and landscape gardening firms near our power plants. The material from these sources comes from landscape conservation, from the management of power lines and from private and public forest and wood management.

Improved logistics

When dealing with bulk goods such as wood, it is important to have good traffic and transport links to power plant management structures. Our supply chains are set up and optimised under environmental and economic aspects. In doing so, we make use of our long-standing joint venture partners while also involving local suppliers and contractors in these processes.

Your contact on questions of “renewable fuels”

If you have any questions on this issue of “renewable fuels”, then Torsten Zuber and the Feedstock Management Team will be pleased to assist.