Newly inaugurated power plants in Marl to deliver stable energy supply  

Marl. The Marl Chemical Park has reached a milestone in safeguarding the future of its energy supply. With its new, state-of-the-art power plant park, Evonik has successfully restructured energy generation at the site and created the basis for a flexible and future-oriented, secure supply of electricity and steam to the chemical park. The commissioning of the two new, efficient combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants, which started in the second half of 2022, has been successfully completed. NRW Economics Minister Mona Neubaur was on site to witness and comment on the inaugural event at the Marl Chemical Park.

"We can only succeed in climate protection if we work together. The CO₂ savings achieved by new power plants are very important for this. This includes the CCGT plants commissioned in Marl. By providing energy for industrial processes and simultaneously supplying several thousand households with district heating, it is an exemplary demonstration of how climate protection, economic efficiency and security of supply can be achieved together," said NRW Economics and Climate Protection Minister Mona Neubaur.

The ultra-modern and resource-efficient power plants can be optimally controlled and thus flexibly deployed depending on the energy demand. They are also designed with the possibility to be converted for operation on hydrogen. This results in a fuel-flexibility that includes natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and residual gases from chemical production, and green hydrogen as sources for generating electricity in the future.

"The commissioning of the combined-cycle gas turbine power plants is a consistent and important step toward the future of our energy supply. With this transitory technology, we are not only securing today's production, but also setting the course for the sustainable supply of tomorrow’s chemical industry," said Thomas Wessel, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Labor Relations Director of Evonik.

The two new CCGT power plants are highly efficient, generating electricity with an overall efficiency of more than 90 percent. Together, they generate a total output of 270 megawatts of electricity (equivalent to the demand of around 750,000 households) and produce up to 660 metric tons of steam per hour. All the gas-fired power plants at the chemical park are controlled together from a central control station with a modern operating and monitoring system.

"The decarbonization of industrial processes is an essential building block on the road to climate neutrality - which is why the project in Marl is a role model far beyond the chemical industry," said Anne-Laure de Chammard, member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy AG. As a general contractor, Siemens Energy was responsible for the construction of the plants.

The new power plant structure is designed to optimally supply the site with steam. In addition, it enables the continued, independent operation of the Marl Chemical Park: in the event of disruptions in the public power grid, the power plants continue to serve plants that need an uninterrupted supply of energy or steam. The power plants’ highly flexible load management also helps balance fluctuations from renewable energies being fed into the power grid - an important and indispensable component of Germany’s ongoing energy transition. In addition, around 2,000 households in Marl will continue to receive district heating from the site's integrated steam network.