Committed to the environment. The Porsche plant in Leipzig is one of the most sustainable automobile factories in the world. This system lets the company pursue the goals of saving resources, using energy efficiently and protecting the environment by lowering its CO2 emissions and reducing the use of substances such as solvents and waste. The forward-looking way in which Porsche translates such goals into tangible successes at the Leipzig plant is game-changing: thanks to new and innovative technologies, Porsche will reduce its annual CO₂ emissions by almost 17,000 metric tonnes compared to conventional plants. “Sustainable solutions” run like a common thread through all our facilities, especially in the new body shop and the new paint shop:

Energy-saving body assembly

800,000 kWh electricity saved annually. The energy efficiency of the new facilities will be optimised by a photovoltaic system installed on the roof which outputs 880 kWp of power; it will generate 800,000 kWh of electrical energy annually – this is equivalent to the annual power consumption of more than 150 Western European four-person households. In tandem with this, Porsche is saving energy wherever possible. A newly designed cooling system for the robotic welding guns in the body shop, for example, will reduce annual power consumption by more than 365,000 kWh.

Sustainably controlled paint shop

Electrostatic separation system for solvents. An electrostatic separator system in the paint shop ensures that the emissions in the paint mist are reduced to a minimum. Roland Töpfer, the Paint Shop Manager, explains how it works: “Traditional air decontamination technology burns off solvents in the exhaust air in a technical decontamination system; then the purified air is exhausted through the roof. By contrast, Leipzig utilises a wet chemical method. The air passes through a chemical substance, which binds the solvents. In a second step, the solvents are separated from the chemical substance; they are recovered here and are collected in a tank for further use. We did this at the smaller paint shop in Zuffenhausen for the first time. The fact that this method is being applied for the first time in a line production paint shop is an absolute innovation in the automotive industry.”

Particles are captured by limestone powder and processed into concrete. There are other substances in the paint mist, though, that should not be allowed to escape into the air uncontrolled: excess paint particles. Again, Porsche is banking on an innovation. Roland Töpfer: “The entire separator system is located below the paint level with the paint robots. The paint-laden air is guided through a powder limestone cloud, whereupon the solids, namely the paint particles, are extracted from the air. So powdered limestone cleaning is effective for the solids.” The powdered limestone with the bound particles is then processed into concrete. Paint Shop boss Töpfer: “The powdered limestone is provided by the concrete industry. We load it with paint particles; the cement industry takes it back, integrates it in its processes and turns it into concrete.” Dry separation with limestone powder requires neither water nor chemicals nor additional electricity. “The exhaust system for the particles and the stone powder is absolutely gigantic,” explains Roland Töpfer. “The paint shop circulates 2.3 million cubic metres of air per hour – fresh air, exhaust air and recirculation air. One million cubic metres of it pass through the powdered limestone filter system. We do this with compressed air blasts: these blasts of air send the powdered limestone upward and thus run it through air channels with special filter bodies upon which the powder settles. Another compressed air blast transports the air downward and back to the collection basins.” By the way, this circulating air method is not only extremely clean but is also efficient. Compared to water-based methods, it offers energy savings of around 80 percent.

80 percent of the required heat is generated CO₂ neutrally. The paint shop is also a leader in terms of the energy used to operate the facility: Porsche utilises the waste heat of a biomass power plant located directly adjacent to the factory. This plant is known as the wood chip combustion facility of the Ingolstadt-based company Prolignis Energie Consulting GmbH & Co. KG, and it is interconnected to the paint shop of the Porsche plant via enormous pipes that were specifically laid for this purpose. Electric power is generated in the combined heat and power plant by CO₂ neutral combustion of renewable waste wood from sustainable forestry; the waste heat is supplied as process steam or heat. In tandem, the biomass power plant supplies the Cargo Transport Centre Leipzig (GVZ) with long-distance heating – an area where, alongside a number of mid and large-sized companies, Porsche Leipzig GmbH and important suppliers of the plant reside. This sustainability alliance ensures that 80 percent of the paint shop’s heat requirements are covered on a CO₂-neutral basis. This results in a reduction in CO₂ emissions of over 8,000 metric tonnes annually.

Automobile factory as a biotope with wild horses and aurochs

LED lamps on the exterior grounds and in the paint shop’s light tunnel. While the new Macan, the Cayenne and Panamera come into being in the halls of the Porsche plant under the most sustainable conditions possible, the company closes the circle of its comprehensive environmental protection practices on the exterior grounds of the state-of-the-art factory complex; they are lit exclusively by energy-saving LED lamps. The use of a total of 315 new LED exterior lamps alone reduces CO₂ emissions by 927 metric tonnes per year – 60,000 euros well invested. The paint shop’s new ERGO Lux light tunnel is also equipped with LED lighting instead of neon tubes; compared to neon tubes, this innovative light system of LED lamps and adjustable light guiding mirrors saves around 30 percent in energy.

1,100 new trees on the factory compound. Currently, the company is having 74,000 square metres (an area covering ten football fields) planted with greenery; in the process, 1,100 new trees will be planted. They make up part of a terrain that has been largely left in a natural state, upon which are also 30 wild horses and 70 aurochs, living in harmony with one of most cutting-edge automobile factories in the world.