Almost 100 percent carbon-free production

TDK Electronics continues to make good progress on its way to carbon neutrality. All sites in Europe and America now produce with purchased electricity from 100 percent carbon-free energy sources, while in Asia three quarters of electrical energy comes from renewable sources. Many projects at the sites have significantly improved the company's energy efficiency. Today, 590 megawatt hours of energy are required for one million euros in turnover, compared to almost 900 megawatt hours in 2014 - an improvement of 34 percent. “This alone shows that ecology and economy go hand in hand,” says Dr. Klaus Moertl, Environmental Protection Officer and CSR Coordinator at TEG.

By 2022, TEG had already achieved the TDK Group's goal of halving CO₂ emissions by 2035. New targets were therefore set at the beginning of 2023: By 2025, purchased electrical energy is to be CO2-neutral. By 2030, the production of TEG should be CO₂-neutral. And in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement, climate neutrality is to be achieved along the entire value chain by 2050.

“Together, we have already achieved a lot that we can be proud of,” says Moertl. “Since 2014, TEG has reduced its CO₂ emissions by almost 75 percent in relation to its production volume.” In addition to the switch to CO₂-free electricity, photovoltaic systems are an important factor, which many sites have installed or use externally. The plants Deutschlandsberg, Johor Bahru, Kalyani, Málaga, Nashik, Šumperk, Szombathely and Kutina already have their own systems. Xiamen commissioned a system in 2023 and the existing system in Málaga was significantly expanded. Even the roofs of the parking lots are now used to generate solar power.

In addition, new photovoltaic systems and expansions are planned or already under construction among others at the sites in Heidenheim, Hongqi, Kutina, Szombathely and Zhuhai FTZ.

However, there are also plants that will not be able to switch to green electricity in the near future. This includes the Batam site, which is located in an industrial park that is supplied entirely by a gas-fired power plant that belongs to the owner of the industrial park. “We can only offset here at the moment,” says Moertl. “Our colleagues plant mangrove trees every year, each of which can absorb 300 kilos of CO₂. Our goal is to plant 50,000 trees in Indonesia every year to offset the site's entire CO₂ emissions.”

This will enable TEG to achieve its goal of emitting less than 30,000 tons of CO₂ by 2025. In order to be CO_2-neutral by 2030, “we still have to get rid of the remaining fossil fuels,” says Moertl, which means, among other things: Changing the plants' gas heating systems.

The Szombathely site is already in the process of replacing its gas heating system with a highly efficient heat pump system, which can also be used for cooling instead of chillers. In addition, the installation of a new photovoltaic system to supplement the existing system will be completed shortly.

With these two projects, the site will generate enough energy to meet the annual needs of 4,000 households. This will save 2,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year. This will make the plant in Szombathely almost completely gas independent.