KfW IPEX-Bank and LBBW assume financing for a highly efficient gas-fired power plant for Evonik

KfW IPEX-Bank, LBBW and Siemens Financial Services, the financial arm of Siemens, are providing financing for the new natural gas power plant that Evonik is building at its largest production site in Marl. The project volume is in the three-digit million euro range. KfW IPEX-Bank and LBBW are each contributing 45% to refinance the leasing agreement between Siemens Financial Services and Evonik. Siemens Gas and Power is responsible for the planning and construction of the power plant. Evonik will operate the plant in combination with the existing natural gas power plants.

Construction is scheduled to start this year; the highly efficient and flexible plant is expected to generate power and steam in cogeneration in two units starting in 2022. The plant's fuel efficiency is higher than 90 per cent. After more than 80 years, Evonik's construction of the new CCGT power plant marks the end of power and steam generation from hard coal in Marl and reduces its carbon emissions by up to one million tonnes per year. The direct annual greenhouse gas emissions of its plants around the world are thus reduced by almost 20 per cent.

For Evonik, modernisation of its power plant park is a key element in achieving the group's sustainability targets. Evonik's main climate goal is to cut its absolute greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2025 compared with the baseline year 2008.

One of the key business policy principles of KfW IPEX-Bank is committing to projects that serve environmental and climate protection aims. Markus Scheer, member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank, said: “By financing this project, we are supporting two important and traditional large-scale industrial companies with forward-looking investments in Germany and providing our expertise in financing ultra-modern and efficient power plants to ensure a stable and reliable power supply, thus contributing to a successful energy transition.”

Andreas Sahl, Board Member for Large Corporates at LBBW, explained: “With this flagship project, LBBW is underscoring its capabilities in sophisticated and highly individual customer solutions. The new power plant will allow Evonik to significantly reduce its carbon emissions. Also in keeping with LBBW's focus on sustainability, we are proud to contribute to these goals through our investment.”

"The structuring capabilities and long-standing expertise of Siemens Financial Services in the energy sector made it possible to offer a financing solution tailored to customer needs. The project was successfully implemented in close cooperation with Siemens Gas and Power, which is providing the technology and service,” said Veronika Bienert, CFO of Siemens Financial Services GmbH.

The new power plant will ensure that Marl Chemical Park has an economical and sustainable long-term energy supply. The plant will have an output of 180 megawatts of electricity – corresponding to the power needs of nearly 500,000 households– and be able to generate up to 440 tonnes of steam per hour. Around 2,000 households will continue to be supplied with district heating from the site's steam network in the future.

With the help of its highly flexible load control, the system will also help to compensate for fluctuating feed-in to the power grid, which often occurs with renewable energy sources – another important and indispensable element in the energy transition.

About KfW IPEX-Bank
Within KfW Group, KfW IPEX-Bank is responsible for international project and export finance. It offers medium- and long-term financing to support key export industries, to develop economic and social infrastructure, to fund environmental and climate protection projects and to secure the supply of raw materials. KfW IPEX-Bank operates as a legally independent group subsidiary and is represented in the most important economic and financial centres across the globe.

About LBBW
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) is both a Mittelstands-minded universal bank and the central bank of the savings banks in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. With total assets of EUR 241 billion and 10,000 employees (as of 31 Dec. 2018), LBBW is one of the largest banks in Germany. Its core activities are the business with corporate customers, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises and the private customer business, as well as savings banks. A further focus is placed on real-estate financing as well as the customer-oriented capital market business with banks, savings banks and institutional investors.

About Siemens Financial Services
Siemens Financial Services (SFS) is the financing arm of Siemens. Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, and automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. Through the separately managed company Siemens Mobility, a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport, Siemens is shaping the world market for passenger and freight services. Due to its majority stakes in the publicly listed companies Siemens Healthineers AG and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Siemens is also a world-leading supplier of medical technology and digital healthcare services as well as environmentally friendly solutions for onshore and offshore wind power generation. In fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018, Siemens generated revenue of €83.0 billion and net income of €6.1 billion. At the end of September 2018, the company had around 379,000 employees worldwide.

About Siemens Gas and Power (GP)
GP offers a comprehensive portfolio for energy utilities, independent power producers, transmission system operators and the oil and gas industry. With its products, solutions and services, Siemens Gas and Power addresses the extraction, processing and transport of oil and gas as well as power generation in central and distributed thermal power plants and power transmission. Siemens Gas and Power is headquartered in Houston, USA. With over 64,000 employees, GP is represented in more than 80 countries worldwide and has been a successful technology leader for the energy systems of today and tomorrow for over 150 years.