Renewable Energy
There are two types of energy sources: non-renewable energy, which is derived from fossil fuels, and renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, solar power and wind power. Energy derived from non-renewable fossil fuels contribute to emissions of health-related air pollutants, as well as greenhouse gases. Renewable energy, in contrast, is widely considered the solution for continued economic and human development, while attempting to combat the harmful influence of climate change. Therefore, and as renewable energy becomes more readily available, efficient and economically feasible, countries worldwide have encouraged and developed large-scale use of clean energy sources.
One of the targets of ICL’s 2030 sustainability vision is the increased usage of renewable energy. The company aims to annually increase its total renewable consumption by 20% (year-on-year), increasingly replacing fossil-fuel based energy.
The majority of ICL’s sites in Europe currently consume 100% renewable electricity, generated by certified renewable sources.
During 2019, ICL began a transition process, by purchasing renewable Guarantees of Origin (GoO) derived from renewable energy sources for 100% of the electricity needs of several ICL sites in Europe. These included sites in the Netherlands (Amsterdam, Heerlen and Terneuzen), Germany (Ladenburg and Hemmingen) and Belgium (Grobbendonk). The electricity was generated by diverse renewable sources- wind turbines, solar photovoltaic energy, hydro power and biomass. The newly transitioned sites were added to ICL Austria Hartberg which has been effectively 100% carbon neutral for several years, as it only consumes renewable electricity (mainly from hydro power) and renewable steam (produced from renewable-certified wood chips). ICL Brazil Cajati also uses 100% renewable electricity. The overall transition in 2019 was evaluated to decrease ICL’s indirect Scope 2 GHG emissions by ~24K tonnes of CO2e.
The overall renewable energy usage by ICL Globally in 2019 was 564K GJ (=~157K MWh). Therefore, 10% of the company’s global indirect energy consumption, and 2% of the overall energy (direct+indirect) consumption, was derived from renewable sources in 2019.
As of January 2020, the Iberpotash and Fuentes sites in Spain have switched to purchasing 100% renewable electricity as well. Iberpotash is the largest electricity consuming site of ICL in Europe, and the transition is therefore expected to reduce GHG emissions by an additional ~50K tonnes of CO2e. The majority of ICL’s sites in Europe currently consume 100% renewable electricity.
10% of the ICL global indirect energy consumption in 2019 was derived from renewable sources.
In parallel, ICL has begun a widescale initiative to install photovoltaic (solar energy) electricity production capacity in available and appropriate areas within the operational boundaries of it’s sites in Israel, Spain, Germany and additional countries.
The first phase location was chosen to be at the ICL Periclase site in the Rotem plain, Israel. The pilot will include the installation of PV cells on available land area within the site, and also to provide photovoltaic shading for parking areas. The company is currently promoting this pilot, which is expected to begin operations within 2021.
The second phase will be focused on ICL’s sites in Europe (initially pilots in Spain and Germany) with construction expected to start towards the end of 2020 with completion in 2021.
As a third stage and during 2021, the viability to expand the rollout of PV to other European sites will be examined.
ICL is also adapting it’s product offerings to the needs of the new low-carbon economy. The company is engaged in research and development of bromine batteries, intended for better renewable energy storage.
