Sunny views in Mannheim

Editor: Kathrin Achenbach

August 20, 2025

Thomas Würges, I&C Engineer on site in Mannheim, can't wait for summer this year. It's not that he's planning any unusual vacations; it's more to do with his professional interests.

The Lanxess site in Mannheim with solar panels on the roof. — Rooftop photovoltaics at LANXESS Mannheim

“Since the beginning of the year, 360 solar panels have been in use on the roof of our sulfur carrier filling plant. In the future, they will enable us to cover 70 percent of our building's energy requirements with climate-neutral solar power,” says Thomas Würges.

This spring has been very promising so far. With around 55 megawatt hours produced so far, output is already well above expectations. “Now, we are certainly excited to see what else is possible in the coming sunny summer months,” says Würges.

It's more than just fulfilling a duty

To ensure the project's success, the team has turned a duty into an optional extra. This is because solar installations on new buildings are mandatory in Baden-Württemberg, unless they are subject to the Hazardous Incident Ordinance. “However, we didn't just want to meet the legal requirements; we made a conscious decision to use the entire roof, not just the required 75 percent. Today, we can say that this decision was exactly right,” explains Würges.

Portrait of Thomas Würges at the LANXESS site in Mannheim — Thomas Würges, I&C Engineer, LANXESS

“As we can use 100% of the climate-neutral electricity we produce ourselves, the system will probably have paid for itself in the next seven years.”

Technology in Close Quarters

Installing the panels on the roof was straightforward. However, it became more challenging in the hallway. There was not enough space for the associated technology. “Standard control cabinets were simply too big. That’s why we developed a particularly compact solution with colleagues from our Production, Technology, Safety, and Environment Group Function, as well as an external provider,” says Würges. “The end result is a control cabinet that is just 1.2 meters wide and 40 centimeters deep, yet still contains all the necessary components.”

The solution is space-saving and future-proof. “We could connect additional roof areas in the surrounding area at any time — the technology is ready for this. The know-how that we have acquired internally during this project will certainly be an advantage for future projects.”

Looking at the energy dashboard, Würges smiles happily. “In the past 24 hours, we've produced a lot again. Our utilization rate is once again over 90 percent. And the weather forecast for the coming days is sunny.”