Home / Business and Politics / Nexe cement factory invested 3.3 million euros in energy renovation and renewable energy sources

Nexe cement factory invested 3.3 million euros in energy renovation and renewable energy sources

<p>Nexe - fotonaponska elektrana</p>
Nexe - fotonaponska elektrana / Image by: foto

At the NEXE cement factory, the largest member of the regional construction materials manufacturer, the final conference of the project ‘Energy renovation and renewable energy sources in NEXE cement factory d.d. – EnU-2’ was held, the company announced.

The project is valued at a total of 24.94 million kuna (3.31 million euros), and within the framework of the competition ‘Increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in manufacturing industries’ of the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014 – 2020, an amount of 1.31 million euros (9.9 million kuna) was approved from the European Regional Development Fund.

– The project, which started implementation in early 2022, involved a series of activities in the production plant and buildings of the factory that resulted in increased energy efficiency, production and use of renewable energy sources, and reduced CO₂ emissions. At the same time, the buildings covered by the energy renovation within this project have been enabled to transition to a higher energy class. The project is another step towards achieving the strategic goal of the NEXE Group towards a green and energy transition of the business – said NEXE CEO Ivan Ergović.

The project unit includes the production plant and buildings. In the production plant, activities were carried out to introduce more efficient electric motor drives in the raw material dryer, technological measures that result in reduced energy consumption, revitalization of electrical installations by introducing efficient lighting systems (replacement of all external lighting of the plant and replacement of lighting in the palletizing hall, introduction of smart meters and devices for detailed monitoring of energy consumption, and installation of new systems for electricity generation from solar energy – construction of an integrated solar power plant on the roof of the raw material depot.

In the buildings and accompanying buildings of the production plant, activities were carried out to renovate the thermal insulation of the envelopes of the central control room, laboratory, and restaurant, installation of an efficient ventilation system, implementation of heating and cooling systems with air-water heat pumps and installation of fan coil units, and the use of renewable energy sources by installing new systems for electricity generation from solar energy on the roof of the central control room and laboratory buildings.

The total annual energy savings achieved by this project is 1.56 gigawatt-hours or 64.73 percent at the level of project unit parts compared to the delivered energy before the project implementation, and the amount of renewable energy in gross final consumption increases by 917 megawatt-hours.

Other positive effects are also expected, such as greater energy efficiency of the entire plant, more pleasant working conditions in the premises thanks to a better heating and cooling system, and better monitoring. Greater control of fan operation will also be achieved by replacing the electric motor drive of the fan in the raw material dryer, better illumination of the space, and better working conditions for employee safety will be achieved by replacing the lighting, and by installing meters, more detailed monitoring and tracking of electricity consumption in the plant is obtained, the announcement concludes.

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