Biomass Boosts Greener Grenadier Production

Why woodchips have us fired up

Hambach. Home to our state-of-the-art Grenadier production facility in France. Capable of pumping out around 35,000 vehicles a year. Now expected to emit 8,800 fewer tonnes of CO2 in the process. All thanks to a brand-new biomass heat plant.

Why it was needed

We’ve invested over half a billion Euros in Hambach since 2019. In the last five years, we’ve added a fully automated body shop, a semi-automated paintshop, a quality inspection lab, and a pool to test water ingress.

All these additions have swollen Hambach’s footprint by 60%. Extra space that needed heating. Where some saw bigger heating bills, we saw opportunity. To switch to biomass heat production, and cut emissions.

 

“Our ongoing investment in Hambach means our Grenadier and Quartermaster models are built to world-class quality standards, and in an environmentally sustainable factory, for export to over 50 sales markets around the world. We’re very proud of the advanced facilities and its exceptional workforce, which together make it one of the most advanced automotive production sites in Europe.”

 

Lynn Calder,  CEO INEOS Automotive

The new biomass heat plant

Biomass simply means organic material used as a renewable energy source. At Hambach, it’s woodchips that power our new heat plant. Up to 14,000 tonnes every year, locally and sustainably sourced. 

Two giant boilers burn these woodchips. The resulting steam drives turbines, which enable connected generators to pump out 9.2 megawatts. That’s enough to power around 6,000 homes, or the same output as a large wind farm.  

This will provide three quarters of our Hambach facility’s requirements. Heating it for nine months of the year, with the existing gas boiler taking care of the rest. And we don’t stop there. We take the waste ash and give it to the local agriculture industry. Its high nitrate content makes it suitable as enriched fertilizer. 

Longstanding commitment

While our new heat plant is new, our commitment to protecting the environment is not. For seven years, all our energy has come from renewable hydroelectric sources.