Press information 13th October 2025
Koehler Renewable Energy and Iqony Enter Into Bioenergy Partnership
Koehler Renewable Energy and Iqony to develop joint bioenergy projects | Biomass set to replace fossil energy | Experiences from pilot projects in Greiz and Oberkirch directly incorporated into new projects
Oberkirch/Essen. Koehler Renewable Energy and Iqony are redoubling their commitment to their partnership in the field of sustainable energy solutions by entering into a general cooperation agreement. With this step, the two companies have laid the foundation for a long-term partnership focused on the joint development, planning, implementation, and operation of bioenergy projects.
Fossil energy sources replaced with renewable energy
Within the context of this partnership, both parties will be training their sights on replacing fossil energy sources with sustainable technologies in an effective manner. The primary focus will be on projects that convert existing coal-fired power plants to technologies that use wood dust, wood chips, and/or biogas instead. In fact, there is already an existing basis for these efforts, as the Koehler Group has already completed pilot projects in this area at its Greiz and Oberkirch mills in Germany by converting the corresponding power plants from lignite and black coal to biomass. It is worth nothing that these projects included the use of patented methods, and that the plan is to extend their use to third-party customers by working together with Iqony.
The partnership will cover all project phases – from development, to planning, to the commissioning and operation of biomass combined heat and power plant. While Iqony assumes primary responsibility for customer acquisition, project development, planning, investment, and implementation, Koehler Renewable Energy will be bringing in its extensive know-how – particularly in the areas of material flow management, permitting, and technological questions, as well as in network building in the paper industry.
All eyes on a sustainable future
“The cooperation between Koehler Renewable Energy and Iqony is a milestone for the transformation of German industry. Energy-intensive industries in particular continue to make extensive use of fossil fuels, including brown coal. Even if not every use of fossil fuels can be avoided due to process requirements, there are proven substitution options. This is precisely where our cooperation on bioenergy projects comes in,” emphasizes Norbert Schröder, Managing Director at Iqony Solutions.
Koehler Renewable Energy also sees the partnership as a huge win: “This partnership with Iqony will give us the opportunity to truly make use of our renewable energy know-how so that we can contribute to the area with even greater efficiency and bring sustainable projects to life together,” explains Koehler Renewable Energy Corporate Director of Technology and Operations Birgit Hagebölling.
With the framework cooperation agreement, the two companies are laying down a solid foundation for the long-term performance of projects that will make an important contribution to reducing the use of fossil fuels.
About Koehler Renewable Energy
Koehler Renewable Energy has been a subsidiary of the Koehler Group since 2012, with its headquarters in Oberkirch in Southwest Germany. The company is helping to shape the energy transition both in Ger-many and abroad in a sustainable manner. In collaboration with business partners, numerous projects in the fields of biomass cogeneration, onshore wind power, photovoltaics, and hydropower have already been implemented. There is also a focus on new energy technologies. The experts at Koehler Renewable Energy manage all stages of the value chain: acquisition, planning, development, and smooth long-term operation of installations.
The experienced team has already implemented projects worth a total of several hundred million euros with various partners, generating over 267,000 MWh of electricity in 2023 as well as over 26,000 MWh of heat and over 431,000 metric tons of steam. This means that Koehler Renewable Energy is making a sig-nificant contribution to the Koehler Group’s sustainability strategy, with the aim of offsetting all the energy required for Koehler Paper’s paper manufacturing operations with renewable energy generated from its own installations by no later than 2030. In addition, Koehler Renewable Energy wants to position itself as a full-service provider for industrial power and heat customers, as well as a supplier of energy system solutions based on renewable energy.
Find more information at: https://www.koehlerrenewableenergy.com
Your contact person
Alexander M. Stöckle
Koehler Group press contact
Tel. +49 7802 81-4749
E-Mail: alexander.stoeckle@koehler.com