EVW was contracted by German chemical giant Degussa to deliver in the Spring of 2005 4.6 MVA of emergency diesel generating sets

German chemical giant, Degussa, is expanding its Antwerp plant. The project involves a major upgrade of the site’s power back up systems. Last year EVW was contracted by Degussa to deliver in the Spring of 2005 4.6 MVA of emergency diesel generating sets.
Today, projects of this order of magnitude are no longer the exception. Industry majors have become increasingly aware of the threat of potential black outs on the European grid as a result of overload created by large power transfers, insufficient power availability, terrorist attacks, etc. Considering past experience, their fears are not unfounded as we remember the big black outs that hit California in 2001 and the North-East of the United States and Canada in 2003, the power failures in Northern Italy in 2003 and in Scandinavia on 8 January 2005. Closer to home there were also the numerous “near misses” between May and September 2002 in Belgium and the Rotterdam power outage on 1 July 2004 as a result of the Summer heath wave.

In the Degussa project EVW once more took the position of the project partner. Apart from several gen-set units EVW are also supplying the PLC control system of the MCC panel. Automatic controls will make sure that, depending on the type of power failure, the best problem solving scenario is followed. Thanks to their many years of experience in sophisticated emergency power supply projects EVW have gained unparalleled know how in the approach of stand-by power supply applications, which has ultimately convinced Degussa to choose EVW as their new supplier. The contract in which project management is a key factor could well lead to long term cooperation between Degussa and EVW as their project and service partners.