Janssen Pharmaceutica, Beerse, Belgium
Janssen Pharmaceutica in Beerse officially commissioned the geothermal power plant at its site on Turnhoutseweg in October 2023. Janssen is the first company in Flanders to pump hot groundwater at a depth of 2.4 kilometres to supply the Beerse site with the energy it needs. This also reduces CO2 emissions by 30 per cent. ‘We hope our project will serve as an example for other companies in the region,’ says Kris Sterkens, managing director of Janssen Pharmaceutica.
The project
In December 2019, the first drillings started on the company premises with the aim of supplying the Janssen Pharmaceutica buildings with heat and cooling in a 100% green and sustainable manner.
The drilling has since been completed and thoroughly tested; the results were in line with expectations. The production well - 2,235m deep - delivers a flow of water with a temperature of 85°. After the heat is extracted from it, the same water goes back into the subsoil via the 2,051m-deep injection well. The extracted heat is used to produce renewable energy, via a 2.7-km-long heat exchanger and heat network to heat the buildings.
What does this mean for CO2 emissions?
Kris Sterkens, Managing Director of Janssen Pharmaceutica, expects this to save 30% of their CO2 emissions. He also calls it an example of the role they see for Janssen Pharmaceutica: an innovative company with a broad social mission for the health of people and the environment.
Marijke Anthuenis, project leader at Janssen Pharmaceutica, is also hopeful about the project. Over the next few months, additional time will be put into optimising the processes and CO2 gains. Production would start in autumn 2021, with the expectation of even higher CO2 gains.
Good news, agrees Flemish Minister for Energy and the Environment Zuhal Demir, who concludes that, with our Flemish know-how, we have assets to take big steps forward in terms of climate and energy transition. The preliminary results are already encouraging.
What does this mean for geothermal energy in Flanders?
Janssen Pharmaceutica's project is seen as an example project, says Kris Sterkens, in two areas: the technical feasibility of geothermal heat in Flanders and also the legal and fiscal possibilities of such a project, such as the guarantee scheme. No superfluous luxury for a project costing €40 million.
This project came about with the financial support of various government partners (Flemish Energy Agency, Flemish Agency for Innovation and Enterprise, European Fund for Regional Development Flanders). But not only in terms of financial handling can this project be used as an example; also in terms of cooperation between the various government bodies and policymakers - local, regional and provincial - this project can serve as a blueprint for future initiatives.
