Substainability

Climate protection and conservation of resources
Our research and development activities focus on climate protection and the conservation of resources. Our goal is to reduce energy requirements over buildings’ entire lifecycles and to reduce the consumption of resources through the optimal generation of energy in power plants and through the high efficiency of production plants.

One example of our research and development work is the interactive energy management system, with which a building’s energy consumption and energy flows are continually measured, adjusted for weather effects, analyzed and presented in a transparent manner. On this basis, any excessive energy consumption can be identified and countermeasures can be taken. By collating, analyzing and evaluating the data gained from the operation of buildings and plants,we are able to extend our expertise, allowing us to supply environmentally friendly products and services.

In our operative service and construction activities, too, we actively contribute to the economical and efficient use of raw materials and energy. Our specialized power plant and industrial services such as engineering, manufacturing and assembly of special components are regularly directed at significantly improving plant efficiency and reducing pollutants. For example, the modernization of the firing system and pressure parts as well as the additional heat recovery systems that we carried out on several blocks of the Belchatow power plant in Poland – Europe’s largest coal-burning power plant – have provided a significantly greater level of efficiency and lower emissions. In real estate planning, we consistently pursue a lifecycle approach. With the help of certification systems, buildings are increasingly being valued comprehensively over their entire lifecycle. To this end,we have specifically established expertise and tools which we are constantly developing. It is our goal, for example, to forecast the energy needs of a building over its entire lifecycle and to reduce these needs through appropriate measures.We see it as our task to support our clients with consulting services at an early stage and to help them make optimal long-term investment decisions.

Regenerative energy systems
The importance of environmentally friendly technologies and the application of renewable energies in the energy sector is steadily increasing. Bilfinger Berger has dedicated itself to numerous special tasks in the field of regenerative energy systems, thereby actively contributing to the sustainable and efficient use of renewable energies for our energy needs.

Since the beginning of 2010, Bilfinger Berger has been an associated partner in the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII). The objective of DII is to create the conditions for the rapid implementation of the Desertec concept. It calls for regenerative resources such as solar energy and wind power from North Africa and the Middle East to provide approximately 15 percent of the electrical energy required in Europe along with a major portion of the electricity needed in the generating nations by 2050. We have taken up this pioneering idea at an early stage and are working together with our DII partners on making the concept a reality and on the development of the technologies needed. Today,we are present in the growing market for solar thermal power plants with specialized services such as insulation.

With the 560MW Rodenhuize power plant near the Belgian town of Gent, Bilfinger Berger is converting a conventional power plant from coal to biomass – a first for a power plant of this size. There, in the future, energy will be generated with wood pellets and excess blast furnace gas from the neighboring steel plant instead of through the burning of coal.

Our subsidiary, MCE, is providing important services in the future oriented field of hydroelectric power. With pressure piping systems, tunnel linings, closure apparatus and further specialized parts we deliver and install key components for large hydroelectric power plants. We often work under difficult and challenging conditions in mountainous areas.

Bilfinger Berger is a specialist in the construction of foundations for offshore wind turbines. Following a series of earlier projects such as the German windpark Alpha Ventus, which went into operation in 2010, we are currently building the foundations for 175 wind power turbines at the London Array windpark in the Thames Estuary. Once completed, the windpark with an electrical output of 1,000 MW will cover the electricity needs of about 750,000 households.

CO2 emissions
Through the application of advanced technologies such as flue-gas heat utilization, we exploit the potential for optimization offered by power plants and thus help to reduce their CO2 emissions. The waste heat of the flue gas is used to preheat feed water and air before the flue gas passes through the desulfurization stage. A crucial role is played by the consideration of new materials for high-performance heat exchangers. Corrosion and wear are reduced with our newlydeveloped plastic heat-exchanger system. In December 2010, our Power Services division received an order for the engineering of a heat recover system at the Porto Tolle power plant in Italy.

The heating and cooling of buildings are responsible for a large proportion of CO2 emissions in industrialized countries. Bilfinger Berger supplies and services modern and efficient building equipment. We contribute to the realization of building designs that protect the climate by integrating and implementing new innovative technologies such as heat pumps, wood-pellet heating and geothermal heating.