EAGER

Hello Julia, hello Mikko. You’ve completed the analysis phase of your EAGER project. Now you’re moving on to the implementation phase. The analysis was really challenging because it was so complex: 20 sites around the world with more than 120 plants operated by 15 different organizational units. Plus selected sites in the Active Oxygens and Silica business units.

What have you achieved for Evonik and what still needs to be done? Mikko, can you tell us what EAGER is about?
Mikko: EAGER is about reducing greenhouse gas emissions—to be precise, carbon dioxide emissions from production sites. Together with greater use of green electricity and other activities, that should help us achieve our new group-wide climate target. Evonik aims to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by a quarter, from 6.3 million metric tons CO₂ to about 4.7 million metric tons between 2021 and 2030. About 1 million metric tons of that should come from measures at our production facilities.

Was EAGER an apt name for this project?
Julia: Definitely, it’s a very good description of the attitude of everyone who was involved. I was impressed by the tremendous motivation. People really have taken sustainability on board. From the beginning of 2022, there were about 50 Evonik employees from a wide range of departments and disciplines working on the project worldwide. They looked at how we can achieve the necessary CO₂ reductions at our sites and in our production processes.

Is it correct that EAGER was a five-step project?
Julia: Yes. First, we identified which energy sources at each site had the biggest impact on CO₂ emissions. Then we identified the processes and areas in the plants that use these energy sources. We organized workshops with local staff to develop ideas with them on how to save energy. After all, they are the experts: They know their processes best, and they know where there is leverage. In the next step, we screened the ideas for technical and technological feasibility. Finally, all the ideas were entered in the CO₂ cost abatement curve for the plant.

Mikko, no doubt that varies enormously from one site to another?
Mikko: That’s right. When we consolidated the various abatement curves, it became clear that we could not move forward at the same pace in all sites and business lines. Some sites can use “off-the-peg” solutions to optimize their production processes, but for other processes, we first need to develop the technology—possibly with external partners.

Julia, you mentioned the CO₂ cost abatement curve just now. Could you explain what it is and how Evonik uses it to make investment decisions?
Julia: Yes, from the workshops we know which plants have the potential to reduce CO₂ emissions and by how much. We also know what measures are needed to do that. However, they also have to make sense economically. That is the basic precondition. Therefore, we looked at the one-time expenditures for the various measures and how each individual measure would impact regular costs. On that basis, we calculated the cost of every metric ton of CO₂ avoided. That can be used to derive the cost-efficiency of the proposed measures.

“Off-the-peg” measures need to be implemented as quickly as possible. In other cases, we need to optimize or develop the right processes or technologies together with partners. A lot is being done, but some things will take time.

Mikko, do you think Evonik is on the home straight?
Mikko: We’re not that far yet, but we’re making good progress. Implementation of the first results of the project has already started in Antwerp and Herne. At our site in Belgium, the topics we are specifically addressing are central heat pumps and green electricity from wind power. In Wesseling, we are planning to replace the gas driers used by the Silica business line with new electric driers powered by green electricity. Each drier will reduce our CO₂ emissions by several thousand metric tons a year. Now it’s important not to slacken our efforts for a single moment.

Julia, Mikko, we’re coming to the end of our interview. Thank you both for your time here at Evonik’s Total Productive Management Academy in Marl.

One last question: what are the next steps for EAGER?
Julia: The follow-on project to drive forward the implementation phase has already started. We’re orchestrating the measures identified in EAGER, driving forward the development of Next Generation Technologies, and naturally collecting further ideas on CO₂ abatement. We should not forget that 2030 is only an intermediate goal as we head for climate neutrality at Evonik by 2050.