An ecosystem of renewable energies that is unique in Switzerland is to be created in Dagmersellen in the canton of Lucerne. According to a press release, a quartet of Lucerne-based firms are joining forces to make this vision a reality. Centralschweizerische Kraftwerke AG (CKW), headquartered in the city of Lucerne, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with its partners Galliker Transport from Altishofen in the canton of Lucerne, the Lucerne-based milk processor Emmi AG and the industrial gases producer PanGas from Dagmersellen. The costs for this project are estimated at around 200 million Swiss francs.
At the heart of the facility in Dagmersellen will be a large CKW wood-fired power plant, which will supply heat and renewable energy for the power supply and for the production of green hydrogen from 2027. When fully expanded, it will produce 100 gigawatt hours, or 100 million kilowatt hours, of electricity and 130 gigawatt hours of heat. It is to be operated with wood chips and waste wood from the region. This will require up to 200,000 tons of wood per year.
Emmi intends to use around 50 gigawatt hours of heat generated by the Dagmersellen production site to produce specialty cheeses including mozzarella and ricotta, in addition to milk powder. The company is aiming to reduce its internal CO2 emissions by 60 percent by 2027. Emmi will supply the demineralized water produced during manufacturing processes to PanGas for hydrogen production.
PanGas will use a portion of CKW’s electricity to produce hydrogen to supply Galliker’s truck fleet. Galliker Transport has drawn up plans to operate on a CO2-neutral basis by 2050. The company has been running a total of six hydrogen-powered trucks on roads throughout Switzerland since 2020. PanGas continues to recover green CO2 from the incineration process as required in the food industry.
