Otto Junker has completed a decarbonisation project at Neuman Aluminium's Strangpresswerk facility.
The companies converted a gas-fired billet heater plant to electric heating – a major step towards climate-neutral production.
Originally commissioned as a gas-fired convective billet heater in 2016, the plant has now been modified to the EcoJet type.
Neuman Aluminium can now heat its 8-inch aluminium rods with clean, CO₂ free energy.
Depending on production throughput, the aluminium rods are heated from ambient temperature to a target temperature of up to 480°C.
Herren Schatko, Technical Manager of the Neuman Aluminium pressworks, stated: “The plant runs reliably in continuous operation, with a high energy efficiency and completely without any fossil energy carriers.
“That way, it meets all the requirements of our decarbonisation strategy and represents an important step towards climate-neutral production.”
The elimination of gas-firing does not only represent a distinct ecological advantage, but a reduction of the company's emissions to zero in process heat supply.
Another advantage is the high efficiency of the electric heating wire coils used. With an energy utilisation of more than 90%, the supplied electric energy is converted into process heat almost loss-free.
Stefan Krieger, Otto Junker Service Department, said: "The project emphasises the importance of regularly checking existing processes for their future viability.
"By means of targeted modernisations or conversions of plants, companies can make significant progress towards climate neutrality within a short period of time using solutions which can be integrated in the ongoing production."
This type of equipment is also available from Otto Junker with hybrid heating for maximum flexibility regarding energy supply.
The project has shown that by converting gas-fired plants, companies can make progress towards climate neutrality that can be integrated into ongoing production.