Salt and chemical company Nobian wants to accelerate CO2 reduction | News item

News item | 12-12-2022 | 1:00 pm

Route to fully climate neutral in 2030

Nobian produces salt and chemicals that are used in everyday products such as textiles, medicines and disinfectants. Salt is also needed for products that are needed in the energy transition, such as insulation material and solar panels. The company with several locations is one of the 20 largest industrial emitters of CO2. The various locations each have their own sustainability ambitions. An important part of the letter of intent is the electrification of Nobian’s salt and steam production in Delfzijl and Hengelo. This means that the production of salt uses sustainably generated electricity instead of natural gas.

By consuming less gas, Nobian wants to reduce 1% of the total gas consumption in the Netherlands. That is comparable to 280,000 households, the size of the city of The Hague. They want to achieve this by replacing the gas-fired salt factories with two large electric heat pumps for salt production. This could reduce the nitrogen emissions of the factories in Hengelo and Delfzijl to virtually zero.

Significant savings can be made on electricity consumption at the Rotterdam location by replacing existing electrolysers with new technology. These electrolysers are used for chlor-alkali production. This energy saving of 135 Gigawatt is comparable to the consumption of 50,000 households. In addition to sustainability, the company also wants to ensure that no nitrogen is emitted at all by 2030.

Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate, Micky Adriaansens: “Salt is used for much more than we know it from. Examples include insulation materials, pharmaceuticals, wind turbines and electric cars. All the more important that we produce it cleanly. By signing the letter of intent, we agreed to work together on this in the near future. It is an important step towards concrete tailor-made agreements with Nobian. In this way we ensure a strong acceleration towards a clean production of salt.”

CEO Nobian, Michael Koenig: “Nobian has been active in the Netherlands since 1918. In addition to a beautiful history, we also want a beautiful and sustainable future. Since 1990, our CO₂emissions reduced by 40%, with 35% green energy. Our current goal is zero emissions by 2040.” Koenig continues, “The tailor-made agreements have the potential to accelerate our ambition to zero emissions in 2030. It is a great opportunity to tackle bottlenecks and permits together with the government. With these projects, we contribute to making the industry more sustainable and strengthen the strategic independence of the Netherlands.”

Customized agreement in 2023

The declaration of intent between the government and Nobian is an important step in the tailor-made approach of the government. With the tailor-made approach, the 20 largest industrial emitters can take an extra step to shape new sustainable technologies that lead to lower CO2 emissions. This challenges companies to come up with their own ambitious plans to reduce CO2 emissions in their own stacks and elsewhere in the chain, and to improve their impact on the environment. The cabinet wants to remove as much as possible the uncertainties, obstacles and delaying factors surrounding sustainability with tailor-made solutions. This is not optional. Every investment by the government must also be matched by an effort by the industry to invest and become more sustainable. Companies must have a vision on their path to climate neutrality and circularity, so that they can continue to develop their activities in the Netherlands now and in the future. In addition, agreements can be made about, among other things, energy and gas savings, training of technical personnel, limiting nitrogen emissions and matching the supply and demand of electricity.