Under the 10-year agreement, Axpo will procure 60 GWh of renewable energy annually from PV plants in Germany and deliver it to Siltronic’s two production facilities
In a recent update from Germany, silicon wafers manufacturer Siltronic announced that it has entered into a partnership with Swiss utility Axpo Solutions for the procurement of solar energy. The annual contract volume is 60 gigawatt-hours, which roughly corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of about 20,000 households, said the company. The parties have signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) for a period of 10 years, starting in 2024. Siltronic operates two production sites in Germany (Freiberg and Burghausen) and plans to power these facilities with green energy. The company believes that after this deal, it will be able to cover around one-fifth of its electricity demand in Germany.
The partners plan to source electricity from various young solar parks in Germany and expect to offset around 25,000 tons of emissions per year. Head of Corporate Responsibility at Siltronic, Michael Wirnsberger said, “This contract is an important milestone on our path to a more sustainable future. It demonstrates that we not only talking about responsibility but are taking concrete actions to minimize our environmental impact.”
MD of Axpo Deutschland, Johannes Pretel commented, “We are pleased to partner with Siltronic in this deal, which allows them to achieve their sustainability ambitions and at the same time supports the construction of additional German PV capacity.”
Having joined the Science Based Target Initiative in 2021 to fulfil its role in climate protection, the German company aims to halve its directly caused greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by the year 2030. CEO of Siltronic, Dr. Michael Heckmeier said, “With the new contract, we are getting a big step closer to this ambitious goal.”
Since its inception in 1953, Siltronic has been working to manufacture silicon wafers with diameters up to 300 mm and has partnered with many chip manufacturers in the semiconductor industry.
Axpo is Switzerland’s leading producer of renewable energy and a global player in energy trading and the marketing of solar and wind power.
