Debrecen. The BMW Group Plant in Debrecen is taking shape: The state-of-the-art paint shop is the first technology to be put into operation at the new production site in Hungary. By using various new processes and systems such as Power-to-Heat, Heat Grid and eRTO, the plant in Debrecen will be the first paint shop in the BMW Group’s global production network to operate entirely without fossil fuels. The new site in Debrecen, where pre-series production of the New Class will start at the end of the year, will serve as a blueprint for all future plants based on the principles of the BMW iFACTORY.
The new paint shop in Debrecen is designed for fully automated painting of 30 vehicle bodies per hour. This capacity can be significantly increased at a later date. The facility will be equipped with BMW iX1 bodies. The state-of-the-art system was developed and planned using the existing know-how in the production network. With a floor area of 33,000 square meters, the three-storey paint shop building offers sufficient space for modern production.
Power-to-Heat significantly reduces carbon footprint
In order to be able to operate the paint shop in Debrecen without fossil fuels such as natural gas, the power-to-heat principle is indispensable. All ovens and other processes required for painting will in future be operated entirely with electricity and not with natural gas as before. This principle significantly reduces the paint shop’s carbon footprint, even if electricity consumption increases due to the lack of natural gas. In Debrecen, we obtain the external electricity required for production exclusively from renewable energy sources.
Heat Grid achieves a further ten percent energy savings
The Heat Grid energy efficiency project was successfully implemented when planning the new paint shop. The innovative concept combines several measures for efficient energy recovery, enabling additional energy savings of up to ten percent. The heart of the project is a large, multivalent storage boiler that collects waste heat from the compressed air supply, drying ovens and cooling systems. This waste heat is then used to preheat the water circuit.
Another special feature of Debrecen is that the entire system operates with a water supply temperature of only 65 degrees Celsius, compared to 90-120 degrees Celsius in previous installations. The hot water is used to supply the paint shop’s hall ventilation systems and ensures stable conditions in the spray booths with a process temperature of 22 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 60-65 percent.
Exhaust gas purification using the innovative eRTO process
Debrecen relies on the innovative eRTO process for exhaust gas purification. eRTO stands for electrically regenerative thermal oxidation and cleans the paint shop’s exhaust air at temperatures of 800-1,000 degrees Celsius and, unlike before, runs exclusively on electricity. During the cleaning process, the exhaust air flows through a ceramic bed in which solvent residues are burned. To do this, the air must be heated to high temperatures in a short time. Due to the high heat recovery rate and the effective retention of heat in the system, the eRTO system offers very high energy efficiency.
Fully automatic dry separation
As at many other BMW Group locations, the new paint shop in Debrecen also uses modern, environmentally friendly dry separation technology. Paint mist that does not stick to the body in the paint booth is filtered out and mixed with limestone powder. This significantly reduces water consumption and enables the paint booth to be operated with up to 90 percent recirculated air. This means that only ten percent of the air needs to be tempered and humidified instead of 100 percent, which leads to considerable energy savings. The rock powder used can also be returned to the material cycle and reused in the cement industry, for example, instead of being disposed of as contaminated wastewater as with the previous wet washing process.
Comprehensive digitization
In addition to innovative technologies such as Heat Grid and eRTO, comprehensive digitalization also contributes to the high efficiency of the new paint shop in Debrecen. Fully automated, driverless AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) transport the bodies to their respective locations. Automated Surface Inspection (AOI) is also used, which uses artificial intelligence to detect irregularities after painting and identify areas that require rework. The planning of the paint shop was implemented virtually. This meant that the structural planning could be tested virtually before construction actually began. Preparatory training for employees also took place virtually.
