CHP/Combined Heat and Power

Koehler's New CHP Plant Use Biomass to Power Paper Production in Germany

March 25, 2025

The 70 million Euro (US$76M) construction and conversion project has taken two years to complete. Koehler operates three paper machines at the Oberkirch plant.

Rod Walton, Managing Editor

Aerial view of the Oberkirch paper plant Image credit Koehler Group

Global wood processing firm Koehler Group is celebrating the multi-year conversion of its combined heat and power (CHP) plant from coal-fired to biomass-fired generation dedicated to a paper production site in Oberkirch, Germany.

The 70 million Euro (US$76M) construction and conversion project has taken two years to complete. Koehler operates three paper machines at the Oberkirch plant, so has operated its own dedicated power generation system since 1943.

In 1986, a new power plant burning coal and paper sludge was built and operated there for nearly 40 years. The new CHP biomass facility is fueled by wood chips, green waste and mill residue, according to reports.

"The conversion of the plant is a clear sign of our commitment to protecting the climate and our support for Germany's energy transition,” Kai Furler, CEO of Koehler Group, said in a company statement. “We are proud of the fact that we will reduce our fossil CO₂ emissions by 150,000 metric tons per year, while simultaneously ensuring sustainable production through the supply of green energy. This lays the foundation for our continued success in the market in the medium to long term.”

In converting the power supply from coal to biomass, Koehler Group also modernized the overall plant technology. The company deployed more than 300 people as part of the construction and modernization phases.

Koehler’s Oberkirch CHP plant operated on a trial basis until it gained official regulatory and certification approval from the Technical Inspection Authority (TÜV).

A significant share of the construction work and the installation of the fuel supply equipment, as well as the infrastructure measures required, had to be implemented while the power plant was operating in order to keep the plant’s standstill phase as short as possible, project manager Josef Hofer said in the company release about the project.

Crews installed several biomass receiving areas and four new silos to replace the coal storage and handling portion. The last of the coal burning happened in June 2024.

Koehler’s Oberkirch plant and its machines produce fine paper and edge banding board. Overall, the company has five production mills in Germany.

About the Author

Rod Walton, Managing Editor | Managing Editor

For Microgrid Knowledge editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

I’ve spent the last 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. I was an energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World before moving to business-to-business media at PennWell Publishing, which later became Clarion Events, where I covered the electric power industry. I joined Endeavor Business Media in November 2021 to help launch EnergyTech, one of the company’s newest media brands. I joined Microgrid Knowledge in July 2023.

I earned my Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. My career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World, all in Oklahoma . I have been married to Laura for the past 33-plus years and we have four children and one adorable granddaughter. We want the energy transition to make their lives better in the future.

Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech are focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.