+++ Faster, more efficient transition from gas to alternative
energy sources possible +++ Pilot project will save around 480 tons
of CO2e per year +++
Regensburg. As it transitions from natural gas to
renewable energy, the BMW Group is gradually electrifying its paint
shops as part of its efforts to decarbonise vehicle production. A
recently concluded pilot project at Plant Regensburg demonstrates how
this transition can be simplified and accelerated. The key lies in the
installation of a thermal oil system. Using thermal oil as a heat
transfer medium enables heat generation to be decoupled from the rest
of the system’s components. This allows the energy supply to the
coating lines to be adapted flexibly at any time.
“One advantage of switching to thermal oil is the flexibility to
choose the energy source for heat generation in our paint shops. For
example, thermal oil can be heated using electricity, geothermal
energy, solar thermal energy – or even a hydrogen-powered heating
system. The ability to change fuels quickly at any time makes our
paint shops more resilient. If an energy source becomes scarce or
unavailable, we can respond at short notice,” explains Samuel Flieger,
project manager for technical planning in the Regensburg paint shop.
This means paint shops can already be set up to run on renewable
energy – even if gas-free heating is not yet an option. The power grid
is not currently equipped at all locations to handle the high energy
demands of a fully electrified paint shop, largely due to its
extremely energy-intensive drying processes. A thermal oil-based
system can also be operated with gas as an interim solution.
Testing successfully concluded in Regensburg
The Regensburg pilot project team took advantage of the production
downtime over the New Year period to install the thermal oil
technology. Within just a few days, they replaced the gas-powered
drying equipment used for one of the three top coat lines with an
electrically heated thermal oil system – complete with an innovative
electric-powered eRTO exhaust air unit.
The key innovation lies in using the new electric heating unit to
transfer heat to the thermal oil, instead of directly heating the air
around the car bodies in the drying chamber after paint application.
The heated oil circulates in a closed loop and, in a second step,
heats the air in the drying chamber via heat exchangers. The
circulating thermal oil reaches temperatures of several hundred
degrees Celsius. Unlike water, it remains stable even at these high temperatures.
Retrofitting boosts energy efficiency
Wherever waste heat is generated, it is recovered and reused as
process heat. This reduces the temperature of the exhaust air released
through the hall’s roof. As a result of these retrofitting measures,
the drying equipment’s total energy consumption has been reduced by
approximately 40 percent. Switching to thermal oil heating, combined
with the system’s improved energy efficiency, will reduce the carbon
footprint of BMW Group Plant Regensburg’s paint shop by approximately
480 tons of CO2e per year.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Christian Dürrschmidt, Communications
Regensburg
Cell phone: +49 151 6060 5194,
Email: Christian.Duerrschmidt@bmw.de
Saskia
Graser, head of Communications Regensburg and Wackersdorf
Cell
phone: +49 151 6060 2014,
Email: Saskia.Graser@bmw.de
Media
website: www.press.bmwgroup.com
Email: presse@bmw.de
BMW Group Plants Regensburg and
Wackersdorf
The BMW Group vehicle plant in
Regensburg has been in operation since 1986 and is one of more than 30
BMW Group production locations worldwide. Every workday, around 1,400
vehicles of the BMW X1 and BMW X2 models roll off the production line
at Plant Regensburg, destined for customers around the globe.
Different types of drive trains are flexibly manufactured on a single
production line – ranging from vehicles with internal combustion
engines to plug-in hybrids and fully-electric models.
BMW Group Plant Regensburg was recognised as “FACTORY OF THE YEAR”
2024 in the category “excellent large-series assembly” of the
prestigious industrial competition. As it implements the so-called BMW
iFACTORY, the BMW Group is focused on digitalisation of the Regensburg
plant site to create a digital and intelligently connected factory. It
is already possible to experience in virtual form what the factory
will look like a few years from now. Production of models for the NEUE
KLASSE, BMW’s next generation of vehicles, will ramp up in Regensburg
in the second half of the decade.
The BMW Group plant in Wackersdorf is home to cockpit production and
parts supply for overseas plants. With the opening of a new battery
testing centre and commissioning of the first phase in autumn 2024,
the location also makes a significant contribution to electromobility.
An entirely new area of expertise is the door and flap centre for Rolls-Royce.
The BMW Group core staff at the Regensburg and Wackersdorf locations
in eastern Bavaria consists of around 9,250 employees, including about
350 apprentices.
www.bmwgroup-werke.com/regensburg/de.html