Since this year, tyre maker Continental says it has been able to produce tyres CO2-neutrally at its tyre plant in Lousado, Portugal. This is possible thanks to the generation of steam using an boiler, that operates entirely on electricity. Continental uses both self-generated solar power and renewable electricity from the power grid for its steam generation.
Before, natural gas was used as sole energy source for steam generation at the plant. In the tyre industry, a large proportion of the energy consumed is used to generate steam, which is needed to heat the tyres, a process known as vulcanisation. The thermal energy turns the raw rubber into flexible and elastic rubber. With an annual production capacity of 18 million tyres, the plant in Lousado is a mega plant. By 2040 at the latest, Continental wants to switch all tyre plants completely to CO2-neutral production processes.
“In Lousado, we are demonstrating that even very large tyre plants can achieve CO2-neutral production. To do so, the availability of renewable energy sources at competitive prices is crucial,” explained Dr. Bernhard Trilken, Head of Manufacturing and Logistics at Continental Tires. He added: “We are preparing all our plants so that they can use as much renewable energy as possible. The commissioning of our electric steam boiler in Lousado is the start of an exciting learning curve.”
The new electric steam boiler converts solar and other green electricity into steam with almost no losses. Water is pumped from the bottom of the boiler to the top, where it is sprayed onto electrodes. Electric current flows through the water jets and creates heat inside the water until it evaporates to steam.
A conventional gas boiler will continue to be available in addition to the new electric steam boiler. This allows Continental to react flexibly to the fluctuating availability of renewable energies and other environmental factors.
In Lousado, the sun shines for an average of seven hours a day. In winter, the average is four hours. For comparison: in Berlin, the sun only shines for 1.8 hours a day in winter.
In addition to the UltraContact NXT, tyres for cars, agricultural machinery and off-road vehicles are manufactured at the 30-year old plant in Lousado.