Lhoist and Engie sign a first blockchain-certified green electricity contract
Date of publication 18.10.22
Press release
Lhoist and ENGIE have signed a renewable energy contract for 8.4 MW, generated by wind farms in the North Sea. Supplementing the Guarantee of Origin system, its green electricity consumption will be certified using blockchain technology. With this contract, Lhoist and ENGIE are pioneering the certification of renewable electricity in Belgium.
100% green electricity
Lhoist, specialized in lime production and minerals extraction, is looking to significantly reduce its carbon footprint on its longstanding Belgian market. Today, Lhoist is taking a major step forward to achieve this goal by signing a purchase agreement with ENGIE including 100% green electricity generated by wind turbines off the coast of Belgium.
For Lhoist, this 8.4 MW contract represents its first large-scale green electricity purchase in Belgium. For comparison, the agreement between Lhoist and ENGIE will deliver as much green electricity over a year as a 300,000sq.m or 30-hectare photovoltaic facility.
Depending on weather conditions, this contract will cover up to 50% of Lhoist’s consumption in Belgium.
An innovative technology
The blockchain technology provides real-time, tamper-proof confirmation of the green energy consumed by Lhoist’s industrial sites, certifying its authenticity with higher standards than the current Guarantee of Origin mechanism.
The web platform developed by ENGIE enables LHOIST to track its actual green energy consumption with full transparency thanks to certificates registered daily in the blockchain.
Other features may also be added to this platform. For instance, the proportion of renewable energy within Lhoist’s total electricity consumption may be linked to the products that it manufactures, improving its own business partners’ carbon footprint.
“As a family company the long-term orientation of our business has always been core. Today our commitment to Sustainability has become a key element of the Group strategy.
This project aligns with our efforts in contributing to transitioning the overall economy towards carbon neutrality. This contract represents an important first milestone in a more comprehensive Green Energy Purchasing strategy”, declares Axel Ampolini, VP and Managing Director of Lhoist Western Europe.
Philippe Van Troeye, ENGIE Benelux CEO: “ENGIE aims to lead the zero carbon as a service transition, developing integrated, custom solutions to help our customers succeed with their own energy transition. This contract with Lhoist illustrates this perfectly. We do more than just sell renewable energy.
We are also improving the monitoring of green electricity consumption and enabling LHOIST to provide a guarantee for its own customers on the origins of the electricity used to manufacture their products. We are proud to help Lhoist to achieve its environmental goals in Belgium”.