On September 15, Olivier Thomas, Technical and Innovation Director at Kem One, took part in the Territoires & Énergies Forum, co-organized by L’Usine Nouvelle, Enerpresse and La Gazette des communes. Bringing together public and private stakeholders to discuss major energy challenges, the event gave a particular voice to energy-intensive industries.

Olivier Thomas participated in the Large Energy Consumers roundtable, which focused on a key question for industry: “From flexibility to energy sobriety: how can we consume energy more efficiently, at what cost, and through which technological innovations?”

A commitment spanning more than 10 years

For Kem One, managing energy consumption is a major industrial priority. For more than ten years, our teams have been continuously working to improve the energy efficiency of our processes and facilities.

This approach has already enabled us to reduce energy consumption by around 25% since 2013. Kem One is continuing along this trajectory, with a target of achieving a 33% reduction by 2030.

This performance is built on a structured approach: accurately measuring the different areas of energy consumption, identifying opportunities for improvement, setting clear targets, and implementing a roadmap that engages teams across all our industrial sites.

Evolving our processes and industrial facilities

In the chemical industry, energy is intrinsically linked to transformation processes. Heating, cooling, compressing and transporting materials are all essential operations involved in manufacturing our products.

Reducing energy consumption therefore requires an in-depth understanding of our facilities, as well as the ability of our teams to continuously improve processes and operating methods.

At Kem One, three key levers are driving this approach:

• Optimizing the operation of our units and limiting energy losses;
• Recovering and making better use of energy, through targeted improvements to our facilities;
• Investing in innovative technologies to achieve further improvements in energy efficiency.

The ELYSE project at Fos-sur-Mer is a concrete example of this approach. This major electrolysis modernization project represents a significant investment in the evolution of our industrial facilities and in improving their long-term energy performance.

Sharing experiences to accelerate the industrial transition

The roundtable also provided an opportunity to compare the experiences of several major energy consumers from different industries.

While industrial processes and activities may differ, the discussions highlighted a number of common challenges and levers: measuring, optimizing, investing and engaging teams to reduce energy consumption while maintaining operational performance.

For Kem One, these discussions are an opportunity not only to share our industrial expertise, but also to contribute to a collective reflection on how to reconcile industrial performance, competitiveness, energy sovereignty and reduced environmental impact.

This approach is fully aligned with Kem One’s ambition to continuously evolve its industrial facilities and processes to build a more efficient and sustainable industry.