"Scotty, warp speed!", Captain Kirk calls out to his chief engineer on the bridge as a signal to crank up the controls and propel the USS Enterprise to light speed toward distant galaxies and unknown life forms. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple for manufacturers of architectural and residential ceramics. This natural, durable, and economical material can play a significant role in making buildings circular and construction sitescarbon-neutral. But across Europe—and thus also in Germany—the energy sector is in crisis, and prices are skyrocketing. Peter Heinevetter, Head of the Technical Coordination Department, and Detlef Zielke, Energy Management Officer at Deutsche Steinzeug Solar Ceramics GmbH (DSSC), discuss ways to still achieve the urgently needed energy transition.
What impact is the energy crisis having on the German tile industry?
The rise in energy costs is dramatic. As a medium-sized äcompany that belongs to the energy-intensive sector öand cannot do without gas and electricity in production, we find ourselves in a dangerous mix of uncertainty and pressure. The unpredictable rise in energy prices is placing an extreme burden on our production costs. As if that weren’t enough, we’re also seeing massive cost increases on the raw materials and supplies side, leading to a direct rise in our manufacturing costs.
Where do you get your electricity mix?
We purchase energy on the wholesale market—that is, the exchange—where we trade on both the futures market and the spot market. From 2021 to 2022, the price of electricity on the spot market rose 3.7-fold, from 50.00 € per MWh to 185.00 €. The price of gas has increased sixfold.
What is a spot or futures market?
It’s easy to explainä. On the futures market, you can buy energy for the long term at fixed prices. This means that you can purchase energy today at a fixed price for the next or the year after that. On the so-called spot market, you procure energy on a daily basis—that is, when it’s needed. We use both markets because we can’t say for sure how much energy we’ll need at the end of the year.
How much electricity and gas does Deutsche Steinzeug consume annually?
If we consider all four plants, our total electricity consumption is 55 million KWh, and for gas, it’s 400 million KWh. That corresponds to the electricity and gas consumption of a small town with about 30,000 residents.
Where do you use gas?
First, in the spray towers. There, the liquid is removed from the slip, a liquid clay mixture. Inside the towers, the temperature exceeds 500 degrees. The water evaporates, and the mixture turns into spray granules—a fine granulate—which is then pressed into tile blanks. Depending on the process, these are fired at temperatures of up to 1,200 degrees.
Which production steps ö consume the most energy?
The kilns and spray dryers consume the most energy. The firing process accounts for 55 to 57 % of total energy consumption, and raw material preparation accounts for approximately 20 %. The remainder is ättributed to shaping, packaging, lighting, etc.
Is it möglich to replace gas with other, alternative energy sources?
In the long term, this may be possible at some point. Experiments with hydrogen are currently underway. Theoretically, up to 20 % of the gas could already be replaced by blending in hydrogen. However, this hydrogen is not yet available on the market.
What is already being done to save energy?
As a company with such high energy needs, we are very conscious of our energy use—in our own best interest. We have been certified for energy management according to DIN EN ISO 50001 for years and have thereby committed ourselves to using the energy we consume effectively in order to save energy every year. Various measures are being taken to achieve this. For example, significant parts of our production facilities are equipped with heat recovery systems. We have also determined that we can save approximately 60,000 KWh of electricity by performing so-called „dust removal“ on the machines during the manufacturing process.
Are there any other possible steps we can take to improve the company’s environmental footprint?
DSSC has always been committed to finding cutting-edge solutions in terms of technology and production. We are constantly working towards this. We took simpler steps, such as switching to modern LED lighting in our administrative offices and at our plants, years ago. We have also looked at where we can operate electric drives more efficiently. Taking a closer look at pumps and motors almost always pays off. Taken together, all these measures make a significant contribution to reducing our overall energy consumption and minimising our carbon footprint. We have set ourselves the aim of further significantly reducing our energy consumption – that is, electricity and gas. The installation of solar panels will play a major role in the next stages of this process.
Interview: Gabriele Busse
