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Stellantis to develop geothermal for Rüsselsheim, Germany facility

Stellantis to develop geothermal for Rüsselsheim, Germany facility Opel logo (source: Ivan Radic / flickr, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga 19 Jan 2023

Stellantis has signed an agreement with Vulcan Energy to develop geothermal systems for the Opel manufacturing facility in Rüsselsheim, Germany.

The automotive manufacturing company Stellantis NV (Stellantis) has signed a binding term agreement with Vulcan Energy Resources (Vulcan) for the first phase of a multiphase project that aims to decarbonize the Opel main plant of Stellantis in Rüsselsheim, Germany through the development of a geothermal system. Based on current assumptions, the project can provide a portion of the facility’s energy needs by 2025.

The first phase of the project involves examining the feasibility of geothermal systems for the Opel plant to be carried out by Vulcan. If successful, drilling and more advanced studies will be undertaken for the project’s next phase. Stellantis aims to source funding for 50% of the costs of project development, which is also supported by the local government.

Stellantis and Vulcan will aim to produce clean electricity for both internal and external consumption while also producing heat for the Stellantis manufacturing site. Stellantis aims to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and be carbon net zero by 2038.

“This partnership with Vulcan reinforces our commitment to promoting greater clean energy solutions across our enterprise. It is one of many actions we’ve taken to drive results, impact, and sustainability in alignment with our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.

“Vulcan is here to support Stellantis, our largest lithium customer and one of our major shareholders, to decarbonize its operations in Europe. While we remain focused on our geothermal-lithium developments in the center of the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field, this project is a complementary opportunity to expand our development pipeline to some of the outer lying areas in the Upper Rhine Valley, supported by industrial partners like Stellantis,” said Vulcan Managing Director and CEO Dr. Francis Wedin.

“I am happy about the partnership of Stellantis and Vulcan Energy announced today. This is positive news for Hesse, because it shows that in our state climate protection and state-of-the-art industrial production through innovative ideas are perfectly compatible,” said Boris Rhein, Minister President of Hesse, Germany.

Source: Stellantis