Sustainable energy generation at Automotive Technology: Changzhou plant uses solar power

All Automotive Technology plants are to produce CO₂-free by 2024. An important element on the way to achieving this goal is the expansion of renewable energy generation at the individual production sites. The Dynamic Components plant in Changzhou, China, has recently started to rely on the power of the sun. In May of this year, the first expansion stage of a photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the plant went into operation. Further expansion stages are to follow.

"We are the first plant at thyssenkrupp Dynamic Components to use solar energy on a larger scale. For us, this is an important step towards saving energy costs, improving our carbon footprint and strengthening our image as a sustainable company in the region," emphasizes Lu Tingan, project manager responsible for the PV project at the Changzhou site.

The first section of the PV plant has an installed capacity of around 1,300 kilowatts (kW_p). It can produce over 1,200 megawatt hours of electricity over the year. This corresponds to around ten percent of the total electricity consumption of the production site.

However, the implementation of the project did not run smoothly. Construction work started in March of this year and was then repeatedly slowed down by numerous corona lockdowns in the country. As a result, there was a shortage of raw materials and construction equipment. At times, all logistics in the Yangtze River Delta region came to a standstill.

"We also had to pay a price when it came to the layout of the plant," reports project manager Lu, "for construction reasons, we were not able to install the originally planned number of PV panels. In the second expansion stage, we will therefore further optimize the design and also use partial areas of our covered parking lot to generate electricity from solar energy."

An additional positive side effect of the new PV system: the solar panels have a shading effect and reduce the heating of the production site. This relieves the air conditioning system and leads to less electricity consumption, especially during the summer months.

"We are very proud of the successful project. Especially since the costs for us were zero, since our local electricity supplier took over the expense of the installation thanks to a state subsidy. So it's really a win-win situation for us, thanks to which we can reduce our annual CO₂ emissions by around 1,200 tons," explains Lu Tingan.