Agricultural technology & resource protection
Saving energy means protecting the climate
Like all industrial companies, LEMKEN faces the daily challenge of producing cost-effectively without overburdening the environment.
Political, social and economic developments demand a move towards climate-friendly forms of energy on the one hand and a high degree of self-sufficiency on the other, in order to create energy security for the company and safeguard the jobs of its employees. LEMKEN attaches great importance to environmental protection.
Success year after year
- In 2021, the self-generated electricity from the combined heat and power plant and photovoltaics can supply 2,126 single-family homes for 1 year.
- The CO₂ footprint per appliance was already reduced by 21.13 % in 2021. This year, it will be reduced by a further 22%.
- With the diesel saved in the vehicle fleet in 2020 through the conversion to e-motors, one can drive around the earth 7 times by car.
Climate protection at our doorstep
For many years, LEMKEN has been continuously reducing the demand for fossil energy in relation to its production capacity.
Saving energy with a system
- Heating the AgroFarm training centre uses wood chips from production residues or processed wood residues from the region.
- The energy management system (since 2016) involves all employees in the resource-saving use of energy. It ensures that energy-saving equipment is purchased and processes introduced. Annual improvements must be demonstrated.
Using heat sensibly
- 2 combined heat and power plants (CHP) with a refrigeration system and district heating network have ensured energy security for the LEMKEN plant in Alpen since 2015. The heat generated during power generation is used completely and heats various buildings. The hot forging area is completely supplied with cold, so that the groundwater requirement for cooling the basins could be reduced by 70 %.
- The development plant built in 2015 and another production hall are heated entirely by the CHP unit.
- The LEMKEN plant in Haren starts operations in the same year. It is heated via a district heating pipeline from the biogas plant in the neighbourhood.
The power of the sun
In 2012, the first photovoltaic system was installed on the roof of a production hall. In the meantime, 5 hall roofs are equipped with photovoltaics. We are investing in further systems, so that since 2022 1,257 kWpeak of environmentally friendly electricity have been generated at the Alpen site. In addition to the energy fed into the grid, we can thus also supply an entire building exclusively with photovoltaic electricity.
We also rely on electricity from the sun at other locations:
- At the Haren plant, a 475.2 kWpeak PV system was commissioned in 2022, which had generated 370,000 kWh of electricity by the end of the year.
- The 477 kWpeak photovoltaic system at the Indian plant in Nagpur also went into operation in 2022 and has since produced around 40 % of the electricity required at the site.
Waste heat for coating & assembly
- New building of the paint shop in 2009 with energy compound system through heat recovery from waste heat. The installation of 2 large heat pumps, 100 m³ buffer storage, 50 geothermal probes and district heating networks make it possible to provide cooling for the forming and painting plant. In addition, production halls and a social building are heated.
- 2008: A newly built assembly hall is heated with waste heat.
Healthy climate at zero cost
The administration building, built in 2004, is a "low-energy building" that is heated and cooled with waste heat from the forging process without its own heating system. In winter, for example, the temperature of the cooling water circuit in the hardening shop is distributed via a heat pump through the underfloor heating pipes, and in summer the derived water temperature of approx. 16 °C provides cooling at zero cost.
Our own honey from our roofs
The ecological green roof on our administration building provides plenty of food for our in-house bees, so we produce our own delicious honey here.
Blue Competence Initiative
LEMKEN is a partner of the Blue Competence sustainability programme. Blue Competence is an initiative of the German Association of Machinery and Plant Manufacturers (VDMA) to promote sustainability in this sector, but also to communicate sustainable solutions to the public. With our partnership, we commit ourselves to complying with the 12 sustainability principles of the mechanical and plant engineering industry.
We are climate-friendly!
In 2019, we received the blue and white climate protection flag of the district of Wesel for our exemplary commitment to climate protection and energy efficiency.
„With quickly visible success, motivation in the company also increases. ... Climate and environmental protection is now so well established in our company that employees not only make suggestions, but also implement ideas in their own house construction.“
Nicola Lemken, Partner in an interview with the VDMA
Climate protection worldwide
Not only on our own doorstep, LEMKEN is also committed to climate protection projects worldwide.
Better air for Varanasi/India
A Missio project in India is dedicated to environmental and climate protection. In Varanasi in north-eastern India, a region that suffers greatly from environmental pollution, we are creating green belts in the city and in 62 villages.
Together with the local religious communities, children and young people, fast-growing Miyawaki forests are being planted, which form a natural forest after only three years and produce valuable oxygen. The measure is accompanied by theatre, workshops, seminars and competitions with the aim of raising awareness for the environment.
Rainforest project Guarda Florestal // Sinnan in Brazil
LEMKEN supports the implementation of the GUARDA FLORESTAL climate rainforest project in Brazil.
