Michelin has chosen ENGIE to optimise energy consumption at its Cataroux site in Clermont-Ferrand (central France), and hence to strongly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to utilities management, the 10-year contract provides for the design and operation of new energy facilities and the installation of a waste heat recovery system. This untapped energy source will meet the site’s heating needs along with those of 4,000 homes through a connection to the city heating network.
To increase productivity, improve energy efficiency and thus move forward on the road to decarbonisation, Michelin has decided to entrust ENGIE with the production of all utilities at the Cataroux industrial site and at L’Aventure Michelin. By modernising production with low-consumption and efficient equipment and optimising its energy needs, ENGIE’s input will allow Michelin to lower its energy consumption while also reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. The site can expect to save 50% in natural gas consumption and 13% in water consumption.
A major part of the contract involves installing a system to recover waste heat from the industrial process and then re-inject it into the Clermont-Auvergne-Métropole heating network, to which the site will be connected. Through its subsidiary ECLA, ENGIE has held the public service concession for the management and operation of this heating network since 2010.
With this connection, Michelin will decarbonise its own energy consumption as well as that of the heating network. In winter, heat recovered from tyre manufacture will allow self-sufficient heating of the site. Throughout the year, surplus heat will be injected into the ECLA network, representing the annual heat consumption of 4,000 homes and abating the emission of 7,000 metric tons of CO2.
For ENGIE, the leader in low-carbon centralised energy infrastructure, this project is perfectly in line with its strategy and illustrates its expertise in supporting its customers’ decarbonisation.
“The constant search for ways to improve our response to our ‘All-Sustainable’ commitment naturally led us to choose ENGIE to optimise the energy efficiency of our Cataroux site. By 2030, Michelin aims to reduce its water intake by 33% compared with 2019, to reduce the CO2 emissions of its industrial sites by 50% from 2010 levels and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. With this environmentally friendly project, Cataroux ensures its energy and ecological transition in the long-term while contributing to the region’s decarbonisation. This major step is fully in line with the strategic plan to ensure that everything at Michelin will be sustainable in the future,” said Frédéric Lorphelin, director of the Cataroux site.
“We are proud to be contributing to the decarbonisation plan at Michelin, an iconic French industrial group that, like ENGIE, is resolutely committed to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Our expertise in low-carbon infrastructure management is reflected here in the creation of a local energy loop that is both green and innovative, demonstrating the responsibility of industry at the heart of the region,” says Cécile Prévieu, ENGIE’s Executive Vice President in charge of Energy Solutions activities.
Key figures:
- 10-year contract
- 7,000 metric tons of CO2 avoided
- Heating for 4,000 homes
- 50% reduction in gas consumption
- 13% reduction in water consumption - equivalent to the water consumption of 300 households
