Reduced reliance on fossil fuels in pursuit of decarbonization goals is the impetus behind a biomass-based process heating project planned by the BMW Group Plant Dingolfing in Germany. Starting in 2025, the facility will secure 100,000 MWh of thermal energy per year from the local public works department to meet about 50% of its process hot water requirements.

The heat will be produced from regional biomass and the company’s own wood waste at a new biomass heating plant now under construction near the BMW site. Three boilers will generate heat that will be transported via underground pipes for distribution throughout the automobile manufacturing plant’s internal network. Construction of the heating plant is scheduled to begin in late 2023. This system is expected to save BMW Group Plant Dingolfing around 20,000 tons/year of carbon dioxide by displacing fossil fuel use.

Most of the wood consumed for the heating system will be sourced from sustainably managed forests in the region. The wood used as fuel is a by-product from forestry and timber harvesting that cannot be utilized elsewhere. About 25% of the wood used for heating services will be derived from the BMW Group's own untreated waste wood, such as single-use pallets and transport crates.