What if making chocolate produces more than just flavour?

Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG is modernising the heating and cooling systems at its Waldenbuch plant. A key component of this was the installation of a new, efficient cooling water system for optimal waste heat recovery, including a refurbished pipework network. The hybrid cooling system enables low-water cooling and reduces drinking water consumption by around 20,000 m³ per year. The factory’s waste heat is utilised via a central cooling water circuit operating at around 30 °C, using large-scale industrial heat pumps. Two systems were installed at the end of 2025, with three more to follow in 2026. Once fully operational, they will cover around 90 % of the heat demand and replace approximately 25 GWh of gas annually.

In the run-up to the project, two wind turbines and a ground-mounted photovoltaic plant had already been commissioned to provide renewable energy.

The large-scale heat pumps ultimately cover around 90% of the heating requirement and replace approximately 25 GWh of gas annually, which corresponds to a reduction of around 90% in Scope 1 emissions. Thanks to the new hybrid cooling system, drinking water consumption at the site has already been reduced by around 20,000 m³ per year.

The project is modular, scalable and transferable to other companies. It demonstrates that investments in sustainable energy efficiency are worthwhile and that waste heat can be utilised even at low temperatures. Partial implementation can provide impetus for SMEs. The concept can be extended to include further waste heat sources, heat pumps or media circuits, and can be continuously refined. It supports Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG in reducing emissions as part of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), to whose 1.5-degree-compliant targets the company has committed itself.