ZF aims to become more climate friendly with green power
May 11, 2022
ZF Group, headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany, has set a goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040 at the latest. By 2030, emissions from the company’s global production sites are to be reduced by about 80% compared to 2019. An important aspect of this is the use of electricity from renewable energy sources. The technology group has now concluded long-term supply agreements with corresponding suppliers and is taking a step closer to its climate neutrality target.
ZF is continuously converting its power supply across the board; as early as 2030, the group is expected to produce its entire energy requirements from sustainable sources and, by 2025, the procurement quota should reach 40%. For example, ZF plants in Germany will be supplied with up to 210 gigawatt hours of green electricity in each of the years 2022 to 2025 via supply agreements with renewable energy providers, which accounts for around 30% of total volume in Germany.
The agreed purchase volumes, which correspond to the electricity consumption of 72,000 households, are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 80,000 tons annually. The Norwegian state-owned Statkraft Group, with which ZF has concluded a supply agreement, will supply the German ZF locations entirely with electricity from wind farms in Zaragoza, Spain, in 2022 and 2023. In 2024 and 2025, Enovos Energie Deutschland will take over the supply of green power from an onshore wind farm in Scandinavia.
“With the supply agreements, we are underpinning our ambitions to sustainably promote the expansion of renewable energies,” stated Dr Michael Karrer, who is responsible for sustainability, environmental management and occupational safety throughout the ZF Group. “The focus on green power fits with our corporate culture and our technological leadership as a globally active manufacturer of transmissions for wind turbines.”
ZF is working towards becoming more climate-friendly not only by sourcing more green power, but also by consuming less. By 2030, the energy efficiency of ZF locations is anticipated to be increased by 20% compared to 2019. Special attention is being paid to power generation by wind turbines with ZF’s own drive technology, with a planned wind turbine in the approval phase to be installed at the Lommel site in Belgium, the headquarters of ZF’s Wind Power Driveline Technology business unit.
