The investment is commensurate with the ambitious project. The agglomeration of Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) will be equipped within three years with a new heating network with the particularity of being supplied by several industrialists, Mulhouse Alsace Agglomeration (M2A) announced on Tuesday. Cost of the operation: 140 to 150 million euros for an “objective” of commissioning in 2026, or even from the end of 2025.
The 50 kilometer long project consists of using the “fatal” (excess) heat given off by several energy-intensive companies – the glass manufacturer Euroglas, the fertilizer producer Borealis and the companies of the chemical platform W Europe – to transport it to the “heart of the agglomeration” consisting essentially of the city center of Mulhouse, explained Remy Neumann, vice-president of M2A in charge of heating networks.
“Thanks to its potential of more than 200 gigawatt hours per year, we will be able to more than double our district heat production”, underlined Fabian Jordan, president of M2A. This production capacity of industrial origin corresponds to the heating need of “20,000 housing equivalents”, specified the services of M2A.
It could supply the local Stellantis car factory, located on the route of the future network, underlined Fabian Jordan and Remy Neumann. A spokeswoman for the factory confirmed “discussions on this subject with M2A, but nothing has been signed yet”.
This waste heat is a “renewable energy, which will replace gas”, affirmed Remy Neumann. Its industrial emitters are located near the Rhine, on the outskirts of the territory of the agglomeration community, which explains the length of the pipes that will have to be built: “30 kilometers for transport between the source and the heart of the agglomeration, then 20 km within it, ”he added.