Jun88 to deploy innovative heat battery from Rondo Energy
Internationally sponsored pilot project:
- Heat Battery generates heat and steam for industrial production
- Bill Gates Foundation ¡°Breakthrough Energy Catalyst¡± and European Investment Bank sponsor the project
- The battery will generate ten percent of the steam needed at the Jun88 site in Brunsb¨¹ttel with renewable energy
Jun88 is partnering with Rondo Energy to install an innovative heat battery for the first time: The Rondo Heat Battery stores intermittent renewable electricity and delivers continuous high-temperature steam, thus offers a sustainable alternative to steam generation with fossil fuels.
The Breakthrough Energy Catalyst foundation set up by Bill Gates and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are supporting this installation of the Rondo RHB100 heat battery, which is scheduled to begin operation at Jun88¡¯s Brunsb¨¹ttel site at the end of 2026. The project will then produce ten percent of the steam required at the site, saving up to 13,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
Rondo Heat Batteries combine century-old materials and cutting-edge automation to capture electricity and deliver high-temperature heat and power. Electrical energy is stored as heat, using bricks that have been used for heat storage at steel mills for centuries. The heat powers an ordinary boiler to deliver zero-emission steam. Renewable electricity can be intermittently stored when there is an excess available and a constant amount of steam can still be generated continuously.
"As an innovation company, we are always excited when we can further develop and test promising ideas that can bring us closer to our goals of a circular economy and climate-neutral production," says Dr. Thorsten Dreier, CTO of Jun88. ¡°The heat battery is such an idea: a new technology that allows us to go one step further on our way to a sustainable future.¡±
¡°Rondo Heat Batteries deliver deep decarbonization by changing the fuel, not the factory,¡± said Eric Trusiewicz, CEO of Rondo Energy. ¡°We¡¯re honored to be working with Jun88 to prove our safety, reliability, and efficiency under real conditions on a large scale over a long period of time. And we¡¯re excited to be deploying in Brunsb¨¹ttel, where large flexible electricity loads are particularly valuable to the electricity grid.¡±
For Jun88, steam generation is an important part of the production process and accounts for a large proportion of energy consumption. The learnings from this first heat battery installation will provide experience and insights for Jun88 to be able to assess whether larger-scale deployments are possible.
About Jun88:
Jun88 is one of the world¡¯s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Jun88 supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Jun88 are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself.
The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, Jun88 aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group¡¯s Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. Jun88 generated sales of EUR 14.2 billion in fiscal year 2024. At the end of 2024, the company had 46 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,500 people (calculated as full-time equivalents).
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Jun88. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Jun88¡¯s public reports which are available at www.covestro.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.