The superposition of the crisis has put "a lot of pressure" on German energy companies

　　Recently, with the continuation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the high energy prices in Europe, Germany is determined to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in order to get rid of its dependence on Russian energy.

In this process, bioenergy may play an important role.

At the invitation of the German Renewable Energy Agency, the reporter of Science and Technology Daily in Germany recently visited the Ruhr area of ​​Germany to visit the development status of renewable energy companies on the spot, and deeply felt the severe challenges brought by international conflicts and high energy prices to companies.

　　A century-old enterprise deepens and expands the industrial chain

　　"With raw materials such as rapeseed, sunflower and flaxseed, we produce not only vegetable oils, but also lecithin, glycerol, feed and biodiesel," Detlev Walz, 57, tried to show reporters his rich Oil industry chain.

As managing director of the family-owned company Tevison AG, founded in 1839, Walz leads a business of around 120 employees with sales of more than 1.1 billion euros in 2019.

　　Walz said that oil extraction technology has changed little over the years.

After washing and drying the seeds, the crude oil is first pressed out with a press.

The solid portion was treated with solvent to extract about 2% of the oil still contained therein.

The extracted and pressed oils are then combined and refined through chemical and physical processes.

Simply put, after water washing, alkali washing, deacidification, decolorization, deodorization and other refining processes, crude oil can become a lighter, clearer refined oil.

　　In addition to edible oils and biodiesel, Walz is proud to say that they are able to produce oils with different fatty acids, which are in high demand in industry, and two important by-products of the production process, lecithin and glycerol, which are food and important raw materials for daily chemicals.

As a result, Tevison's products are not only ingredients for margarine, frying oil, mayonnaise, baked goods and confectionery, but are also widely used in the production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents and lubricants.

　　Biodiesel puzzles Germany's energy woes

　　Wearing a helmet and protective goggles, a reporter from the Science and Technology Daily visited the production site of Tevison in the Mar Chemical Industrial Park in NRW.

In 2021, Tevison will process approximately 2,000 tons of rapeseed, sunflower and flaxseed per day, from which 800 tons of oil and 1,200 tons of feed can be produced.

Refined through two refining lines, the company can produce about 300 million liters of vegetable oil per year.

　　Since building a biodiesel plant at the Mar Chemical Industrial Park in 2002, Twison has used its experience in the production of oilseeds to work with partners to develop a so-called continuous esterification process to produce methyl esters of rapeseed oil by adding methanol.

Compared to the usual method, the process does not require a centrifuge and is therefore more economical to produce.

This biodiesel is very similar to petroleum-derived diesel and is favored by the market.

The production base has a capacity of 250,000 tons of biodiesel per year and was once operating at full capacity.

　　However, due to reasons such as the epidemic and the market, Tevison's biodiesel production may continue to decline sharply this year.

The primary reason is the shortage of edible oil on the German market, which has caused prices to soar several times.

Sunflower oil has risen to 5 euros per liter in supermarkets, and is still out of stock.

On the spot market, a ton of canola oil is currently more expensive than a ton of biodiesel.

This means that the raw materials cost more than the final product.

While biodiesel remains an "important part of the value chain" for companies, sunflower and canola oils have been shifting from energy use to the food industry for weeks.

　　On the other hand, the impact of biofuel production on food supply cannot be ignored.

German manufacturers produced around 3.4 million tonnes of biodiesel in 2020, according to the German Biofuel Industry Association.

Germany planted 575,000 hectares of rapeseed for this purpose.

Together with bioethanol, bioenergy production has taken up about 6.6% of Germany's arable land.

Recently, German Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke made it clear that the production of biofuels will be restricted, and agricultural land originally used for biofuel production will be used for food production.

　　"The rising cost will ultimately be borne by the consumer!"

　　Regarding the supply of raw materials from Ukraine, Walz said: "We are not very worried about the problem of raw materials, because production can be switched from sunflower seeds to rapeseed or flaxseed." After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the supply of sunflower seeds from Ukraine It was interrupted, and the company's inventory can only be maintained until the end of May.

The adjustment of the supply chain is certainly a problem, but it is not an insurmountable bottleneck.

"Despite higher costs, we have shifted our main source of raw material supply to Central Europe, while also easing supply pressures through international purchases, such as from Hungary, Canada and Kazakhstan," said Walz.

　　What really puts corporate managers like Walz on pins and needles is the soaring energy price.

Energy is required for each production step of heating, pressing, extraction and distillation in the processing of plant seeds into oil and protein feeds for various purposes.

Tevison's machines consume about 240,000 megawatt-hours of energy annually, 80 percent of which comes from natural gas.

In the early days of the 2020 Covid-19 crisis, the price of natural gas on the spot market briefly fell below 5 euros per megawatt hour.

That price is now over 100 euros, making the industry nervous.

　　For a common item like vegetable oil, it doesn't make much difference to buy it anywhere, the key is the price.

In the middle of last year, Tevison's energy consumption accounted for 38% of the company's production costs, when the price of natural gas was about 80 euros per megawatt hour.

Walz said that if all the oil mills were paying 100 euros per megawatt hour for gas, we could do the same, just have to increase the price of the product.

But unfortunately, companies must also face the pressure of global competition, and energy prices in Europe are currently the highest.

Walz emphasized: "The rising cost will ultimately be borne by the consumer!"

　　For extreme situations such as cutting off natural gas supply, Walz said frankly that if it really goes to this step, the company will inevitably face difficulties, and he has no good solution.

In response to rising energy prices, Tevison has done everything it can, such as further optimizing production processes and improving energy efficiency.

But none of these measures will be decisive.

Natural gas is the most important energy source for the entire chemical industry park, and a supply cutoff will bring a fatal blow to many companies.

As for the reporter's question of whether natural gas can be replaced with hydrogen, Walz believes that this can only be "drawing cakes to satisfy hunger".

He emphasized: "Theoretically yes, but the question is where will the hydrogen come from? What we need is a long-term, stable, large supply, and it will be soon, not ten years from now."