Highlights
- The geothermal system installed at Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal, S.A. in Braga significantly contributes to the carbon footprint neutrality of this industrial complex;
- Fossil fuels have been discontinued at these facilities and all consumed energy comes from renewable sources;
- The project includes increasing self-production of green energy by expanding photovoltaic plants.
Sustainability is a commitment undertaken by Bosch at a global level, and the path to achieving it involves carbon neutrality (scope 1 and 2). The Bosch site in Braga has just taken another significant step by implementing a decarbonization project that, among other measures, resulted in the construction of a geothermal park, which helped eliminate the need for gas at the location. This facility now exclusively uses renewable energy, produced from inexhaustible resources that the planet freely provides us, such as wind, sun, tidal forces, and geothermal energy, among others.
"This decarbonization project is very relevant and significant for the Bosch site in Braga, as it reflects the work we are developing within the scope of our commitment to sustainability, both as a company and to society in general. This is not an isolated project, as it fits within the energy transition strategy that Bosch is implementing across all business areas, whether by applying measures and solutions that promote energy efficiency at its various locations or in the development of services and the production of technologies and products that will help consumers use various energies more efficiently and sustainably," says Carlos Ribas, representative of Bosch in Portugal and technical director of Bosch in Braga.
Developed and implemented between 2022 and 2023, this new decarbonization project by Bosch in Braga was realized through the installation of a geothermal heat pump system, which combines a heat pump with, in this case, 140 geothermal probes reaching a depth of 133 meters. It is considered one of the largest geothermal plants in Portugal. Through the geothermal probes and a water-cooled heat pump, this system has the capacity to provide thermal energy for cooling or heating in a more efficient and economical way than any other conventional system. The use of this geothermal system has resulted in a significant reduction in carbon emissions, estimated at around 600 tons of CO2 per year.
The installation of the geothermal system is part of the company's broader energy transition plan, which has as one of its main objectives, already achieved, the elimination of natural gas as a primary energy source. The project's basic concept also includes a set of additional measures, involving various complementary solutions: energy recovery from existing infrastructure, particularly from compressed air production and chilled water production equipment; high seasonal efficiency heat pump and chiller systems; and the continuous monitoring and optimization of the technical management of buildings to make the control of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems more autonomous and efficient. Combined, these measures result in a saving of approximately 5,740 MWh of natural gas, which corresponds to an annual reduction of 1,160 tons of CO2 emissions.
Installation of a photovoltaic park reduces dependency on external energy Currently using electricity as its sole energy source, Bosch has also invested in Braga by installing 5,934 photovoltaic modules capable of generating 4 GWh of electricity annually, all for self-consumption. This production corresponds to about 10 percent of the energy required by this industrial complex. The goal is to continue expanding energy production through photovoltaic modules until reaching an annual production capacity of 12 GWh by 2027, which will increase the energy resilience of the complex to 30 percent of its needs.
Monitoring real consumption as the basis for project design
In the past, the Bosch plant in Braga used an energy mix of electricity and natural gas, with the latter being used mainly to produce hot water, which was then used in the heating and air conditioning systems in all buildings in this industrial complex. The type of appliances produced at the Braga unit require very strict stability in temperature and relative humidity values, which in turn are achieved through high energy consumption in the ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems. In 2021, the consumption of natural gas, the only source of energy from fossil fuels at the time, was around 6 percent of total energy consumption. This led to the project to end the use of fossil fuels in the facilities, natural gas. To this end, analyses were carried out by monitoring energy consumption data in real time in the various buildings on an energy management platform developed within the scope of digitalization and the application of Industry 4.0 solutions at the Bosch unit in Braga. This data enabled the optimization and reduction of consumption associated with HVAC systems, particularly hot water use, providing the team with a comprehensive overview of the system's performance. Understanding how the system works served as the basis for designing this decarbonization project.
The geothermal heat pump project was implemented through an investment of 2 million euros and is part of the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) framework for the decarbonization of industry, meeting the objectives for its implementation: "reduction of emissions and conservation of natural resources; continuous improvement of energy performance; cost reduction and optimization of investments for energy efficiency".
