en.Wedoany.com Reported - Acideka, a Basque chemical company in Spain, has launched an industrial decarbonization project at its plant in Lantaron, Álava, becoming the first chemical plant to fully electrify industrial heat supply using renewable energy. The project replaces two diesel boilers with a solution combining renewable energy generation and thermal storage, enabling the plant to produce steam required for industrial processes without using fossil fuels, thereby eliminating all direct emissions related to heat production and avoiding 1,310 tons of CO2 emissions annually. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Spain's Third Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen; the Governor of Álava, Ramiro González; the Mayor of Lantaron, José Luis Salvidea; and the Basque Government's Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi.
The core of the project is the ThermalBox thermal storage system developed by technology company Build to Zero, which converts renewable electricity into process heat. The equipment has an electrical power of 2.25 MW, a thermal power of 2.5 MW, and a molten salt thermal storage capacity of 14 MWh, capable of reaching temperatures close to 400°C, meeting the plant's thermal needs with an efficiency of approximately 97%. The energy powering the system mainly comes from a 2.13 MWp solar photovoltaic self-consumption plant, built by NetOn Power, one of the first of its kind in the Basque Country. 85% of ThermalBox's electricity consumption (3,972 MWh per year) comes from solar power, with only 15% (701 MWh) sourced from the grid.
The initiative has received public funding. The thermal storage system obtained a subsidy of €1,007,023 through the Thermal Storage PERTE, and the photovoltaic plant received €192,289.20 from the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). Acideka's Executive President, Leire Azanza, stated that the chemical industry can lead decarbonization without sacrificing competitiveness, and investing in electrification and renewable energy is investing in the sustainability of operations. Build to Zero noted that ThermalBox transforms the historically challenging industrial heat decarbonization into an actionable and profitable reality. NetOn Power indicated that solar self-consumption power purchase agreements enable industries to access clean energy at stable prices without initial investment, avoiding distribution network constraints on new demand and accelerating their transformation.
