Press release September 12, 2023
Iqony supports decarbonization at Mainova
Essen-based energy company plans conversion of the Frankfurt West combined heat and power plant
Frankfurt am Main/Essen. Iqony is supporting Mainova AG in the decarbonization of its Frankfurt West CHP plant. Two new gas turbines with heat recovery steam generators, each with an electrical capacity of 62 megawatts and a thermal output of 105 megawatts, are being built at the long-established power plant site in the center of the Main metropolis, which supplies district heating to sites including the university hospital, the trade fair center and Frankfurt Airport.
This project is a central component of Mainova’s comprehensive decarbonization strategy, which is aimed at completing the company’s own coal phase-out as early as 2026. In the two new power plant units being built with technical planning by Iqony, natural gas will initially be fired instead of coal. This will permanently save around 400,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year. At the same time, the new plants are designed to be able to use hydrogen as a fuel in the future – an important step on the road to net zero emissions.
Iqony as general planner
“As the general planner, Iqony is responsible for ensuring that this important project succeeds and that Mainova and the city of Frankfurt take a decisive step towards the declared goal of phasing out coal in a timely manner,” says Patrick Bell, who is responsible for the project on Iqony’s part.
The experienced energy company from Essen was faced with special challenges resulting from the nature of the power plant site in the middle of Frankfurt’s inner city: “It is a major logistical and organizational challenge to manage the new construction work, the necessary materials and storage, and the continued operation of the old plants in parallel in such a limited space,” says Patrick Bell. However, the interaction of all the partners involved, from Mainova to Iqony, the plant constructor and the other trades involved, showed that even challenges on such a level could be mastered if a strategic goal was pursued jointly.
Iqony as a decarbonization specialist
The fact that Iqony was chosen as the general planner for this project underlines the expertise of the Essen-based energy company, particularly in the field of decarbonization solutions: “Iqony can draw on more than 85 years of experience in the construction, design and operation of complex energy plants. This makes us one of the leading experts supporting industry and municipalities on their way to climate neutrality and a successful energy and heat transition, because we can offer everything needed from a single source in the current transformation of the energy industry,” says Dr. Ralf Schiele, COO of Iqony.
Mainova’s CEO Martin Giehl comments: “The new build of our pioneering H2 gas power plant is our largest single investment in an infrastructure project to date. In order for us to achieve the climate protection goals we have set ourselves with this construction work, we need strong and capable partners. The Iqony team has exactly these qualities for successful project implementation.”
