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Sign upOctober 12, 2023
Villeroy&Boch
Valence d'Agen
Villeroy & Boch, a German ceramics manufacturer founded in 1748, is transforming its Valence d’Agen production facility, its last French site with 216 workers. In 2022, they launched a €6 million investment plan for environmental transition. Previously relying on fossil gas for drying and firing, Villeroy & Boch partnered with Eco-Tech Ceram to utilise waste heat. In Phase 1, they replaced 11 outdated dryers with five high-efficiency units powered by waste heat. Phase 2 plans to install hot-air burners in the tunnel kiln to boost energy efficiency.
Energy consumption decreased by 10%, avoiding 400 tCO2/year by recovering 2,000 MWh of waste heat. Phase 2 will add 200 tCO2/year reductions and 1,000 MWh savings. Phases 1 and 2 are projected to save €150,000 annually.
The plant will thus reduce its gas consumption by 42% compared with 2021. Without this saving, the site would be threatened by rising gas prices.
Laurent Santarelli, Manager of the Valence d’Agen plant at Villeroy & Boch France
A major amount of the energy consumed in the industry is wasted as lost heat, which represents millions of tons of CO2 uselessly produced. Eco-Tech Ceram’s solution is to recover the heat contained in industrial fumes and store it in refractory ceramics made from industrial co-products. This accumulated heat can either be used as a heating source – hot air at constant temperature level is provided (up to 1000°C) – or be converted into electricity.
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