Energy Transition
Keeping energy consumption and competitiveness in mind, Prayon aims to improve its energy efficiency, reduce its carbon footprint and secure its supply in line with regional, European and global climate objectives.
Contribution of this pillar to the Sustainable Development Goals
Our key indicators
- CO2 emissions (scope 1 for activities located in the European Union);
- Energy consumption (in MWh / ton of P2O5 produced).
Our actions
Energy has been a strategic concern for Prayon for many years, for both environmental and economic reasons, and many investments have already been made:
- In Engis, the ‘Sulfine’ unit installed in 2009 produces steam from sulfur, which allows a reduction of 80,000T of CO2 / year. 2,678 photovoltaic panels have also been installed, representing power output of 750 kwh;
- In Puurs, the cogeneration unit set up in 2020 produces 100% of the required energy and returns surplus energy to the grid (representing the consumption of +- 10,000 households), which allows a reduction of 11,000T CO2 /year;
- In Les Roches, steam is produced by our neighbor using a process comparable to the one of Engis;
- In Augusta, furnace capacity was boosted without increasing energy consumption by adjusting the process parameters;
- The lighting at all sites has been replaced with low-energy units.
The volatility and uncertainty of energy prices in 2022 and the risk of supply, combined with the global climate ambitions shared by Prayon, will require additional attention in order to control costs and participate in collective efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2022, Prayon began drawing up an energy roadmap for reducing its consumption and emissions in order to meet the EU’s “Fit for 55%“1 targets for industry by 2030 and the REpowerEU, and ultimately achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
For the Engis and Puurs sites, which are part of the European Emission Trading Scheme, this represents a 62% reduction in emissions in relation to 2005. For the Les Roches site, the effort must be -40% in relation to 2005.
Prayon has also set a target of improving its energy efficiency by 2% per year. This will furthermore contribute to the Group’s energy transition.
- Compared to 1990 emissions
Type 1 emissions for European production sites and 2030 ambitions
Type 2 emissions for European production sites
Prayon Group's overall energy consumption and KPIs
In addition to these longer-term challenges, Prayon aims to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in its daily operations:
- The P2O5 acid production process developed by Prayon emits 7 times less CO2 than thermal processes;
- The transport used in the Supply Chain favors waterways, both upstream (79%) and downstream (61%).
Our achievements in 2022
- In one year, the KPIs relating to this pillar have improved, with a reduction in CO2 emissions of 8.25% in Europe and a 1.08% reduction in the energy used per ton of P2O5 produced within the Group;
- Appointment of an Energy Manager for the Engis site and intra-group coordination, and definition of an Energy roadmap 2030 developing scenarios, levers and investments for the Puurs, Engis and Les Roches sites;
- Installation of photovoltaic panels on the Roches chemical platform;
- Participation in the HECO2 (Hydrogen, Electrification and CO2 capture) project, which brings together twenty other scientific and industrial players and aims to achieve an energy transition in industry by studying three ways of reducing carbon emissions: electrification, i.e., replacing fossil fuels with electrical energy; the production and use of hydrogen in industrial processes; and CCS/U technologies, which allow for the Capture, Concentration, and Storage/Utilization of CO2 ;
- Participation in the NWoW4Net-Zero project (reduction of CO2 emissions in Human Resources, in connection with the “New Ways of Working”).
