15. May 2026
Covestro targets major energy savings at Dormagen TDI site
Covestro is to install a new steam compressor at its Dormagen, Germany, TDI production site in what the company describes as its largest energy-efficiency project to date.
The project is expected to reduce Covestro’s energy consumption in Germany by around 2% annually compared with 2025 levels, while cutting more than 40,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. The company said the investment is in the “low double-digit million-euro range”.
The Dormagen facility produces TDI (toluene diisocyanate), a key raw material for flexible polyurethane foams used in products including mattresses, upholstered furniture and automotive seating. Covestro operates what it says is Europe’s largest TDI plant at the site, with annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes.
According to Covestro, the new compressor will function using a heat-pump principle. Steam generated during TDI production is currently too low in temperature for reuse in many manufacturing processes, meaning part of the energy is lost as waste heat. The compressor will raise the steam to a higher temperature and pressure so it can be reused elsewhere in production.
“Energy efficiency is a key lever for transforming our production towards climate neutrality and a circular economy. The principle is: the less energy we need, the better,” said Thorsten Dreier, chief technology officer at Covestro.
“That’s why we’re using every opportunity to make our production even more energy-efficient with modern, innovative process technologies.”
The company said the project would save a “low three-digit GWh volume” of energy annually. Covestro added that it had already reduced its energy consumption by around 40% between 2005 and 2022, and is now targeting a further 20% reduction in energy use per tonne of product by 2030 compared with 2020 levels.
The latest investment follows the completion in March 2025 of a major modernisation programme at the Dormagen TDI plant. That earlier project included installation of a new reactor system designed to recover reaction heat for steam generation, cutting CO₂ emissions by around 22,000 tonnes per year and reducing energy consumption by up to 80% compared with conventional TDI production processes.
“With these projects, we are not only reducing our CO₂ emissions, but also saving on energy costs,” said Andreas Doerfer, global energy excellence manager at Covestro.
“To achieve our energy efficiency target, we must utilize all available options for using the waste heat generated in our processes to manufacture our products.”
Construction of the compressor system is scheduled to begin at the end of 2026, with start-up planned for mid-2027.
Photo: The TDI production chain at the Dormagen site © Covestro