Alexandru Plocon, Continental Anvelope Romania: “We are analyzing the possibility of installing wind turbines to cover part of our energy consumption”
By Petre Barac
Copyright thediplomat
In our factory, electricity represents the largest share of our energy use, much higher than gas. We invest in everything related to energy efficiency and in reducing our environmental footprint.
Tire production is highly energy-intensive and, of course, we all know how much energy costs have increased lately. It is easy to imagine the significant impact that energy consumption has on our overall costs.
Investments in renewable energy, in systems that recover heat from our technological processes, as well as in technologies that enable the production of tires made from sustainable materials, are essential for us to remain competitive on the market.
In Timișoara, we have installed photovoltaic panels and heat pumps, which recover energy from production equipment and then use it to heat or cool the production halls where we operate. This technology was implemented for the first time at Continental globally right here in Timișoara, and we are proud to have been pioneers in this field.
When it comes to energy efficiency, we have managed to replace forklifts powered by standard lead-acid batteries with lithium-ion batteries. We have also implemented processes to collect rainwater and reuse it internally.
We have installed LED technology to provide brighter lighting in our production areas. All these initiatives help us improve energy efficiency.
What sets us apart is the production of tires made from sustainable materials. This is also a target for our group—we aim that by 2050 up to 100% of the tires we produce will be made from sustainable materials.
Starting the production of sustainable-material tires in Timișoara was made possible by obtaining the ISSC PLUS certification earlier this year. Currently, we are confident that around 20% of our energy consumption can be covered by renewable sources and the efficient projects we have implemented.
We are a very large energy consumer and are constantly looking for new solutions to reduce consumption. We plan to expand our photovoltaic installations soon, and we are also analyzing the possibility of installing wind turbines to cover part of our energy needs. We are conducting a study to determine whether wind turbines are feasible in our region.
