MAHLE Builds Germany’s Largest Photovoltaic Thermal Plant
MAHLE's largest PVT system in Germany integrates over 1,000 Sunmaxx hybrid modules, producing 430 kWp of electricity and 1.2 GWh of thermal energy annually to support its 2040 climate-neutral goals.
www.mahle.com
MAHLE is decarbonizing its production site in Vaihingen-Enz (Baden-Württemberg / Germany) with a state-of-the-art photovoltaic thermal (PVT) plant. It uses more than 1,000 PVT modules from Sunmaxx, a leading European manufacturer of PVT hybrid modules. MAHLE is strategic investor and development partner of Sunmaxx. Germany’s largest photovoltaic thermal plant is being built on an area of almost 2,000 m2.
It will supply the MAHLE plant with green electricity and overall, more than 430 kilowatt-peak (kWp) of electrical power and approximately 1.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of thermal energy generated annually are involved. This could cover the annual heating needs of about 100 single-family houses. The first hybrid modules of Sunmaxx will be installed from February 2025, and the plant is scheduled to go into operation in July 2025.
“Our joint project shows that the switch to regenerative solutions is worthwhile due to the increasing costs for energy and process heat. The decarbonization of the plant in Vaihingen-Enz serves as a reference project for other sites and makes an important contribution to achieving climate neutrality of our company by 2040", said Jumana Al-Sibai, member of the MAHLE Group Management Board and responsible for the Thermal and Fluid Systems business unit. The MAHLE locations in Germany have been climate-neutral since 2021.
Unlike pure PV modules, PVT modules deliver electricity and heat simultaneously. They can serve as the sole heat source for heat pumps, but in combination with a heat storage show their greatest effect. For the sustainable heating supply of the MAHLE site near Stuttgart, a geothermal field has been selected as a heat storage facility to store the heat energy generated in summer by PVT for heating operation during the winter months. Thanks to the regeneration by the PVT modules, significantly fewer drill meters are required than for pure geothermal systems.
After the changeover, MAHLE will benefit from very competitive electricity and heat prices. With the PVT modules from Sunmaxx, the MAHLE site is almost completely detached from natural gas and makes its infrastructure largely independent of fossil fuels. “Due to PVT, the energy costs can be scaled and thus planned. Unlike gas, for example, no increase is to be expected in the next thirty years. MAHLE is showing: Projects like this are an opportunity for industrial companies to keep their energy expenditures constant and represent a cost-effective solution to achieve their climate goals," explains Wilhelm Stein, CEO of Sunmaxx.
www.mahle.com
