Highlights
- Cooperation between PannErgy Nyrt., the City of Győr, Audi Hungaria and Győr-Moson-Sopron County for the sustainability of the region
- Production of more than 1 million GJ of renewable heat energy in 2022, enough to supply 25,000 households
- Total CO2 emissions reduced by nearly 45,000 tonnes
Green energy for the reduction of CO2 emissions: the Győr Geothermal System implemented by PannErgy Nyrt., consisting of three production wells and two reinjection wells, the Bőny Heat Centre and the 17 km long geothermal heat transport system, produced a record volume of more than 1 million GJ of heat energy last year, the two largest users of which are the City of Győr and AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. To mark the occasion, Dénes Gyimóthy, Chairman of the Management Board of PannErgy Nyrt., presented a commemorative plaque to Dr. Csaba András Dézsi, Mayor of the City of Győr, Alfons Dintner, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi Hungaria and Zoltán Németh, Chairman of the Győr-Moson- Sopron County Assembly.
"It's a wonderful feeling to work with partners, day after day, who care about environmental sustainability and selfless support to society as much as they care about business success. Without a doubt, the City of Győr and AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. are such partners. In addition to professional knowledge, it is largely thanks to this that we can celebrate an unparalleled record of green heat energy transfer in Győr today. Such a responsible approach to business ensures that we will continue to achieve outstanding joint successes," said Dénes Gyimóthy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of PannErgy Nyrt.
"As a mayor who is also a doctor, I consider that the protection of the environment entrusted to me is one of my most important duties. This is the approach we are trying to adopt. With my colleagues at the municipality, we have already put the organisational conditions for this in place. In my first weeks as Mayor, we set up the Environmental Committee of the Municipality of Győr in the spirit of Green Győr. This year marks the third time we have organised the Győr Climate EXPO, which plays a major role in raising public awareness. I'm proud that we have declared Püspökerdő a protected area and that we are doing more every day to make our city even more liveable. As the winner of last year's Most Liveable City award, Győr also pays particular attention to the quality of its energy sources - not only in respect of price, but also in terms of environmental and health protection. This is why we have encouraged our municipal company, which is also responsible for district heating, to use as much renewable energy as possible. Of the heat sources, geothermal energy produced by PannErgy is of great importance and benefit to the city, as it is environmentally-friendly and significantly reduces CO2 emissions.
I welcome the environmental cooperation of PannErgy Nyrt., AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt. and Győr-Moson-Sopron County with the City of Győr", said Dr. Csaba András Dézsi, Mayor of Győr.
"We believe that economic success and sustainability go hand in hand. In this spirit, we have made ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) a core element of our Next Level strategy. Our Company has been carbon neutral on balance since 2020, and continues to work to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations.
The use of geothermal energy is one of the pillars of our efforts. In the 2022-2023 heating season, it has allowed us to heat our factory units exclusively with geothermal energy, with the exception of a few weeks," said Alfons Dintner, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI HUNGARIA Zrt.
"The use of green energy at such rate is a celebration of climate protection. As an environmental engineer and the county's president, I consider it of the utmost importance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since the forests in the county can only absorb a fraction of the CO2 emitted in the region, we have no other option, but to reduce emissions if we want to meet our climate targets. The example shown by large industry players and municipalities is also crucial in terms of raising public awareness, which is a field where results are notoriously difficult to achieve. Geothermal energy is the best kind of green energy, since it is independent of the time of day, changes in wind speed or fluctuations in the water yield. Also, it is the best choice from an energy security perspective, since it provides stable and constant heat production. In addition to environmental protection, gas-independent energy production has now become a priority interest from a national economy perspective as well", emphasised Zoltán Németh, President of Győr-Moson-Sopron County.
With a 100-year history, PannErgy Nyrt. is the leading deep geothermal heat producer in the Central and Eastern European region. Every year, it delivers 1.8 PJ of geothermal heat to nearly 60,000 homes and other institutions. Every year, the energy of 13 million m3 of thermal water is utilised to preserve the earth's treasures, with full reinjection. PannErgy has achieved annual savings of nearly 80 thousand tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHG emissions in Hungary. In the field of ESG, PannErgy has been recognised with the prestigious "Responsibility, Sustainability & Corporate Governance" award at the Budapest Stock Exchange's Best of BSE 2021 Awards.
Achieving the most extensive possible use of all renewable energy sources, including geothermal energy, is a strong ambition of Győr's heating provider. Geothermal energy plays a prominent role in it as it is. Its annual rate of application exceeded 40 percent as early as in 2022. Since March last year, geothermal heat has taken the top spot in the ranking of heat sources. The company running the city signed a new contract with PannErgy that month. As a result, geothermal energy accounted for 100 percent of the heat supply last summer. The city is still looking at ways to further increase the share of renewable energy. The cooperation between Győr, the County, Audi and PannErgy contributes to the creation and continuous development of a safe, modern and environmentally-friendly heat supply in our city.
Audi Hungaria has been using geothermal thermal energy since 2015. The company's heat energy demand is equivalent to the heat energy consumption of approximately 5,700 households. Thanks to the use of geothermal energy, the company has been able to reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 21,000 tonnes. Audi Hungaria has been carbon neutral on balance since 2020. In addition to renewable geothermal energy, the largest rooftop solar farm in Europe, covering a total of 160,000 square metres, provides a significant part of its energy supply. Moreover, with almost 100 percent of the generated waste recycled - for example, through the Aluminium Closed Loop project, which has seen the company introduce a closed loop for aluminium -, the company saves significant amounts of raw materials and CO2 emissions.
The impact of climate change is being felt not only globally, but also regionally, with scorching heat, flash floods, hurricane-force winds causing major problems for populations. Addressing the challenges of climate change and reducing the emissions that are causing this change requires concerted action. We have a responsibility to each other, because emissions do not stop at the factory gate or at the city limits. Therefore, it is our shared interest to reduce the amount of pollutants in our environment. In the County of Győr-Moson- Sopron, the largest proportion of carbon dioxide - about 1.7 million tonnes - is emitted into the atmosphere as a result of energy consumption, while forests can naturally absorb only 8% of this amount. As set out in the county's climate strategy, it aims to achieve at least a 35% reduction by 2050, compared to the base year of 2015. The county's objective is to increase energy efficiency, as unused energy means zero emissions, and to encourage the use of renewable energy sources at rates as high as possible. The climate-friendly heat produced in the geothermal power plant of the Bőny-Pér region contributes greatly to achieving this goal.
Communication partner at PannErgy Nyrt.
Dénes Gyimóthy
Email: pannergy@pannergy.com
Communication partner at the City of Győr
Andrea Pelikan
E-Mail: sajto@gyor-ph.hu
Communication partner at Győr-Moson-Sopron County
Zoltan Németh
E-mail: elnoki.titkarsag@gyms.hu
Communication partner at Audi Hungaria
Péter Lőre
Email: peter.lore@audi.hu
This announcement is published in Hungarian and English languages. In case of any contradiction between these two versions, the Hungarian version shall pr
