The pioneering work in the field of energy from wastewater by the family-owned Rabmer Group was recognized at the TRIGOS-Award 2022, Austria’s most renowned prize for responsible management and future viability, on June 29 in the anchor factory in the “Climate Protection” category. The solution of the construction and environmental technology company based in Altenberg near Linz for sustainable heating and cooling supply with the energy source waste water, which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is once again receiving great recognition. The technology makes a significant contribution to security of supply and CO2 reduction: up to 14 percent of the heat requirement could be covered with the valuable and available resource from the sewer.
“Companies are a key driver and part of the solution in the transformation of our economic system towards sustainability – both in terms of ecological and social concerns,” said IV Secretary General Christoph Neumayer at the award ceremony for responsible business on June 29 in the Ankerfabrik in Vienna. Among the winners of the TRIGOS Awards 2022, the Rabmer Group was honored in the “Climate Protection” category for its unique solution of energy from wastewater. “A project like this makes an important contribution to climate protection and the energy transition,” says Neumayer.
Rabmer has been focusing on innovation and environmental technology for over thirty years. The family business is managed by Ulrike Rabmer-Koller in the second generation. Together with her team, she has expanded the family business with a lot of innovation from a regional construction company to an internationally active technology company. She is also particularly pleased about the sustainability award she received from Dipl.Ing. Ingmar Höbarth, Managing Director of the Climate Fund: “The TRIGOS Award is a special distinction for my team and me and once again confirms that our path with innovative solutions for climate protection is the right one. Sustainability has been part of our corporate strategy for decades. With our environmental technologies, we offer significant added value for our customers and our environment.”
The ever-available power source from the canal
As a pioneer in Austria, the Rabmer Group offers a solution for sustainable heating and cooling supply with energy from waste water, whose energy source waste water is available around the clock and every day of the year. “The technology can contribute to security of supply and CO2 reduction in Austria. Up to 14 percent of the heat requirement could be covered with the energy from the sewer,” Ulrike Rabmer-Koller is convinced. After all, 50 percent of global energy consumption is required for heating and cooling. In the residential sector, the proportion is even 73 percent of total energy consumption.
“We turn dirty wastewater into clean energy. With the help of innovative heat exchanger systems and appropriately tuned heat pumps, nearby office and residential buildings, but also shopping centers, hospitals and other public facilities can be heated and cooled in a particularly economical and environmentally friendly way. In addition, the energy obtained can also be fed into district and local heating networks,” Rabmer-Koller explains the system and adds. “In the company headquarters of Wien Kanal in Blumental, for example, it is used for 100 percent heating and cooling”. The basic requirement is a sewer with a flow rate of at least ten liters per second, which corresponds to the sewage feed of around 5,000 people.
Heat exchanger system also for in-house projects
But not only large projects are suitable for the use of energy from wastewater. As part of in-house projects, the Rabmer Group relies on innovative heat exchanger systems that use waste water for the energy-intensive preheating of fresh water. “With these individually tailored solutions, we support, for example, companies from the beverage industry, canteen kitchens, laundries, or wellness and bathing establishments in saving energy and money,” reports Rabmer-Koller and adds: “Right now, due to the high energy prices and the enormous dependence on gas regionally available renewable solutions. Energy from wastewater offers great potential here.”
Heat generation from wastewater has been recognized as renewable energy since 2018 and there have also been government subsidies since 2021.
More information on the subject at www.energie-aus-abwasser.com
