Covestro will install a new steam compressor at Dormagen, reducing energy use, lowering emissions, and advancing climate-neutral production goals.
Covestro has announced its biggest energy efficiency initiative to date with the installation of a new steam compressor at its Dormagen production site in Germany. Through this modernization project, the company expects to cut its annual energy consumption in Germany by around two percent compared to 2025 levels, while significantly lowering carbon emissions and supporting its long-term climate neutrality goals.
The project represents a low double-digit million-euro investment and is expected to deliver substantial environmental and operational benefits. According to the company, the compressor will help save a low three-digit gigawatt-hour volume of energy every year while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 40,000 tons annually. The environmental impact is comparable to removing nearly 20,000 cars from the road or eliminating the emissions generated by a town of around 5,000 residents.
The newly planned compressor system operates using the principle of a heat pump. During the manufacturing process of TDI, an important raw material used in flexible polyurethane foams, water vapor is generated as a byproduct. Steam is essential for several industrial production processes at the site, but the vapor created during TDI production is not sufficiently hot for direct reuse. As a result, part of this thermal energy has traditionally been lost as waste heat released into the environment.
With the new system, the steam will be compressed to a higher temperature and pressure level, enabling it to be reused efficiently in production operations. By recovering and recycling waste heat in this way, Covestro aims to improve energy utilization while reducing overall consumption and operational costs.
Thorsten Dreier, Chief Technology Officer at Covestro, emphasized that improving energy efficiency is one of the company’s most important tools for advancing climate-neutral production and building a circular economy. He noted that reducing energy demand remains a central priority, adding that modern and innovative process technologies are essential for making industrial operations more sustainable.
The company has already achieved major progress in energy reduction efforts over the past two decades. Between 2005 and 2022, Covestro reduced its overall energy consumption by around 40 percent. Looking ahead, the company plans to further strengthen these efforts by targeting a 20 percent reduction in energy use per ton of product produced by 2030 compared to 2020 levels.
The Dormagen compressor installation forms part of Covestro’s broader energy efficiency strategy designed to support its transition toward climate-neutral manufacturing. Andreas Doerfer, Global Energy Excellence Manager, said the company is continuously identifying opportunities to utilize waste heat more effectively while simultaneously lowering energy costs and emissions.
The project also reinforces Covestro’s long-term commitment to the Dormagen site and the broader North Rhine-Westphalia region. Following the installation of an energy-efficient reactor at the TDI plant last year, the new compressor marks another major investment aimed at securing the site’s future competitiveness and sustainability.
Construction work on the compressor system is scheduled to begin by the end of this year, with commissioning expected in mid-2027.
