BMW Increases Renewable Energy Investments to Reduce Natural Gas Dependency

BMW's production chief said the company is looking into new investments in solar, geothermal, and hydrogen energy to reduce its reliance on natural gas. He claimed that a Russian gas embargo would bring the industry to a halt.

The automaker, which relies on natural gas for 54 per cent of its energy use in 2021, is looking into adding solar panels to its plants and working with local governments to establish plans to transport hydrogen to its Leipzig factory in Germany.

Milan Nedeljkovic said," Hydrogen is very well-suited to lowering or even fully compensating for gas demand. Our industry accounts for around 37 per cent of German natural gas consumption."

BMW's plans are part of broader German industry preparations to move away from Russian gas and devise a system to limit available supplies in the event of a supply disruption.

Beyond Germany, a new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, that BMW claims will be the world's first auto factory to run totally on renewable energy, will rely mainly on solar power.

Due to expensive upfront costs and complicated drilling licencing processes, geothermal power is more stable than weather-dependent renewables, but it has not seen the same level of growth or investment as wind or solar.

Source: Arab News