Ineos Automotive has recently unveiled a €15m ($16.2m) biomass heat plant at its Hambach production and assembly facility in France. The plant, with a 9.2MW output, will use 14,000t of locally sourced, sustainable woodchips annually to cover 78% of the site’s heating needs.
Over the past five years, the Hambach factory, known for producing Grenadier and Quartermaster vehicle models, has undergone upgrades with an investment of about €540m. These upgrades include a new fully-automated body shop, a semi-automated paint shop, a quality inspection lab, and a wading pool for testing water ingress. The facility’s usable area has expanded by over 60%, now spanning 210,000m2, leading to an increase in heating requirements.
The construction of the biomass heat plant began in April 2023, with wood-fired boilers installed by February 2024. The final industrial commissioning of the plant was completed in January 2025. The plant features two wood boilers with a combined thermal output of 8.4MW, an 800KW heat pump, and a 200m3 heat storage unit.
The transition to biomass heating is expected to reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by approximately 8,800t per year. Additionally, the waste ash generated from the plant is recycled as an enriched fertilizer for local agricultural use, further demonstrating the plant’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
Ineos Automotive’s CEO, Lynn Calder, emphasized the company’s commitment to building world-class quality vehicles in an environmentally sustainable factory for export to over 50 sales markets worldwide. The Hambach Energy Transition project, including the new biomass plant, is a testament to Ineos Automotive’s ongoing dedication to sustainability.
The initiative has received support from France’s Agency for Environment & Energy Management (ADEME) and Pôle national des certificats d’économies d’énergie (PNCEE) programs. Ineos Automotive has also entered into an agreement with Dalkia, securing a grant of up to €1.5m.
President of Ineos Automotive, Philippe Steyer, highlighted the importance of increasing sustainable energy capacity to meet the growing consumption as the site expands. The acquisition of the Hambach site from Mercedes-Benz (formerly Daimler) in December 2020 marked a new chapter for Ineos Automotive’s sustainability-driven initiatives.
Overall, the new biomass heat plant at the Hambach facility represents a significant step towards reducing carbon emissions and promoting environmental sustainability in the automotive industry. The integration of biomass heating not only benefits the environment but also underscores Ineos Automotive’s commitment to producing high-quality vehicles in a sustainable manner.
