After the summer of 2017, Janssen Pharmaceutica will begin drilling at its site in Beerse, Flanders, for the construction of a deep geothermal energy system. Janssen is the first industrial player in Flanders to apply this renewable energy source.
To keep energy costs under control, Janssen is looking for alternative energy sources to heat and cool its buildings. “Our site consumes as much electricity as 38,000 families,” says Stef Heylen, CEO of the pharmaceutical company. Using deep geothermal energy proves to be beneficial for both the environment and the company’s energy bill: “The energy source is renewable, inexhaustible, produces no greenhouse gases and comes with a stable price level.”
Janssen Pharmaceutica is the first company in Flanders to make the switch to deep geothermal energy. At the same time, it will also be the first to benefit from the system of guarantees put in place by the government of Flanders:
The government refunds specific costs to companies when the achieved energy level is less than expected
The pharmaceutical company also received EUR 4 million in funding from VEA – Flanders’ energy agency – and EUR 2 million from support agency Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The European Regional Development Fund added another EUR 1.5 million to the package.
