Press release, April 19, 2024
Iqony Fernwärme and RWE sign new heat supply contract
Waste heat from Essen-Karnap waste-to-energy plant is turned into climate-friendly district heating // Contract to run until the end of 2036
Iqony Fernwärme GmbH and RWE have extended their existing contract for the supply of heat from RWE’s Essen-Karnap waste-to-energy plant to Iqony’s district heating network. The new contract will run from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2036.
The waste-to-energy plant in Essen-Karnap has a heat output of 109 megawatts (MW). In the past two years, the waste heat recovered in Karnap has accounted for more than a third of the heat supplied to household and commercial customers in Essen, Bottrop and Gelsenkirchen through Iqony's district heating network.
Climate-neutral waste heat
The waste heat generated during thermal waste treatment in Karnap is considered unavoidable and therefore climate-neutral under the German Heat Planning and Decarbonization of Heating Networks Act (Heat Planning Act), which was passed by the Bundestag in December 2023.
The waste heat recovered in Karnap for the district heating supply in the Ruhr region therefore makes an important contribution to achieving the climate targets as set out in the municipal heating plans of the Ruhr region municipalities of Essen, Bottrop and Gelsenkirchen. And the district heating customers of Iqony Fernwärme also benefit from the extended heat supply contract, as the climate-neutral waste heat from Karnap means that Iqony Fernwärme already meets the legal requirement that one third of the heat used must come from climate-neutral sources by 2030.
Matthias Ohl, Spokesperson for the Management Board of Iqony Fernwärme GmbH
“By extending the supply of heat from the waste-to-energy plant in Essen Karnap, we are ensuring planning and supply security not only for our customers, but also for the municipalities, which are faced with the task of achieving climate-neutral heat supply by 2045. We, as Iqony, want to make a significant contribution to this by providing climate-neutral district heating by then. With the strategic partnership now agreed with RWE, we have laid an important cornerstone for this.”
Kathrin Schmelter, Manager of the RWE waste-to-energy plant in Essen-Karnap
“Iqony and RWE are continuing the success story that has reliably contributed to the district heating supply in the central Ruhr region for decades. We continue to use the energy resulting from the thermal treatment of municipal waste from Essen, Bottrop and Gelsenkirchen to generate electricity and district heating at the Essen-Karnap waste-to-energy plant in a way that conserves resources. By doing so, we remain a reliable partner for the heat transition in the region.”
Dr. Andreas Reichel, CEO and Labor Director of STEAG and Iqony
“Iqony is one of the largest district heating companies in Germany. In view of the foreseeable growing importance of district heating for achieving climate targets, we want to continue to grow systematically in this area. The long-term extension of the strategic partnership with RWE that has now been agreed also brings us an important step closer to our declared goal of achieving climate neutrality as a group by 2045.”
