Audi Encounter Environment Magazine 05-2012

8/20/2019 Audi Encounter Environment Magazine 05-2012

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The Audi Environment Magazine2012


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The Audi Environment Magazine

2012

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3Encounter Environment Encounter Environment

14 26

42

Friends of nature:

Audi employees taking a personalinterest in nature.

CO₂-neutrality

Within the foreseeable future,the Audi Ingolstadt site will be CO₂-neutral.

Building and producing sustainably:

Architect Thomas Rau and Frank Dreves, AudiBoard Member for Production, in discussion.

Loss turns to gain:

Recuperation technology inAudi production.

N 60:

The new bodyshell productionfacility for the new Audi A3.

110

30

Saving water:Audi uses service waterin a closed circuit.

90

14 Mission Possible

Audi’s steps along the wayto CO₂-neutral vehicle production.

22 Team Players

Employee commitmentis the guarantee for maximumproduction efficiency.

26 Passion!Passionate about the environment.

Audi employees and their verypersonal commitment to nature.

30 N 60

A new, highly efficient facility for thenew, highly efficient Audi A3.

42 Energy Conservation

Resource conservation in architectureand in vehicle production.

50 Magazine

Creativity in the service of theenvironment – sustainability news fromaround the world.

54 Tail Wind

Audi uses wind energy as a basis for theCO₂-neutral mobility of the future.

74 Plan A

The holistic approach to planningthe factory in Győr.

82 2nd life

The reconditioning of used ancillariessaves resources and material.

90 A Clear Case

Using service water in aclosed circuit conserves the preciousresource of water.

94 Densely Populated

Bacteria clean water, batterieslive longer – environmental protectionat the Brussels plant.

98 Pushed to the LimitsHow the use of innovative technologyhelps people to break through barriers.

102 A Clean Getaway

Vehicles for export take a CO₂-neutraltrain ride to the port of Emden.

104 Underground

Preventative measures –geologists examine the groundbeneath the Neckarsulm plant.

110 Recuperation

Loss turns to gain – the useof recuperation in Neckarsulm.

122 Captain FutureThe year 2050 – a visionary glimpseinto the future of car production.

130 Green IT

Sustainable and efficient –the new Computer Center at theIngolstadt factory.

132 Greenovation

Audi is developing environmenttechnologies in close cooperation withuniversities.

134 Think Green

Tomatoes and grass in action –operational environmental protectionin Ingolstadt.

136 Clean Green

Brilliant ideas – foot mats for vehiclesand vacuuming robots.

138 Clean Screen

Always in the picture –a monitoring system replaces paperbuild notes in assembly.

140 Audi Environment Foundation

Trees, bees and bioneers –Audi Environment Foundation projectsin detail.

146 Glossary

Brief explanations of the terms usedin this document.

148 Audi Environment Policy

Preamble and principles of the AudiEnvironment Policy.

166 Imprint

Contents


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“It is the future that lays down the law for our today.” This

uote by Friedrich Nietzsche can also be applied to our present time.

Raw materials are finite; the price of energy is rising and, not least,

limate change has to be stopped. For us as a company, this means

hat we have to establish today how we want to exist sustainably.At Audi, we want to ensure a future wor th living for our

mployees and for our customers, as well as for future generations.

And we believe that success cannot be measured in financial figures

lone – for us, success is expressed in many ways. Among the most

mportant is ecological responsibility. This is something that we

ve and breathe every day at Audi – not because we have to, but

because we believe it is the right thing to do. We are not waiting for

pressure from without. The best ideas at Audi come from within. We

re proud of our pioneering spirit that has made our company what

t is today – and that continues to drive us. “ Vorsprung durch Technik”

herefore also stands behind our environmental commitment.

We have made a promise to the future – with the con-

scious use of raw materials and energy, we are moving step-by-step

toward the CO₂-neutral factory, because the mobility of the future

has to be CO₂-neutral. That means not just the drives for our cars,

but also their production.It will always take energy to produce cars. But we will

derive this energy in an ecological way. To achieve this, we are fol-

lowing new paths in many areas of our company, researching newtechnologies and constantly looking beyond our horizons. At our

Ingolstadt plant, we were the first to implement a Combined Heat

Power and Cold facility back in 1999. District heating and heat re-covery systems are further examples of ‘clean’ production.

At all of our factories, people are working every day to

achieve our goal of CO₂-neutral mobility – because ecological re-

sponsibility is not a matter for one person. We must all take it se-

riously – we must all understand, live and breathe environmental

protection. Whether we use bacteria in Brussels to clean waste

water, or recuperation in our production; whether we bring our cars

to the container port with the ‘green train’ or breathe new life into

used ancillary units; whether our employees restore rivers in theirspare time – we are sticking resolutely to our path. With ideas thatmay sometimes be a little ‘different’ – but that’s how we are at Audi.

Allow yourself to be surprised by all these ideas.Happy reading!

We have made a promise to the future.With the conscious use of raw materials and energy, we aremoving step-by-step toward the CO₂-neutral factory. Frank Dreves

Frank Dreves, Member of the Boardof Management of AUDI AG, Production.


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The efficient solar modules avoid around 250 tonnes of carbon dioxideemissions and contribute to making Ingolstadt a CO₂-neutral site.

→ page 14

250

CO₂-neutral The generation and use of renewable energy is one of theprerequisites of a CO₂-neutral site. The innovativ e photovoltaic installation on the roofof bodyshell manufacturing for the new A3 generates around 460,000 kilowatthours of renewable electricity every year.


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Standby Even the most efficient production equipment needs a break.However, it shouldn’t just be on standby, but switched off completely.A3 bodyshell manufacturing is equipped with an intelligent switch-off concept thatreduces energy consumption during downtimes.

80Intelligent weekend shut-down reduces the standby electricity consumptionof equipment in building N 60 by up to 80 percent.

→ page 30


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1,300There is a lot to do between virtual model and start-of-production –1,300 people work in Audi Production and Works Planning.

→ page 74

Thought through The use of innovative, resource-conserving technologies like hotforming in Audi production is the result of carefully thought through planning.Production and Works Planning at Audi takes a holistic approach. Ergonomics, efficiencyand resource conservation take front and center.


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17,200The use of the Combined Heat Power and Cold plant alonereduces CO₂ emissions from the Ingolstadt plant by 17,200 tonnes per year.

→ page 42

Building the future Sustainability and resource conservation play just as big a rolefor buildings as they do for building cars. The efficient use of energy is what distinguishesCO₂-neutral buildings and the CO₂-neutral site.


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Missionpossible

4 15Encounter Environment Encounter Environment

CO₂-neutral plantAt Audi, CO₂-neutral mobility starts at the factory.

n the forseeable future, Audi will declare the Ingolstadt site CO₂-neutral.


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ext

atricia PiekenbrockIllustrations

Büro Achter April

“A car’s carbon footprint has to be wiped

out before it drives its first kilometer,” says

rank Dreves with conviction. As Member of the Board of Manage-ment of AUDI AG responsible for Production, he is working inten-

ively on the improvement of the CO₂ balance, during the “birth

phase” of a new car. And he doing so with considerable success –

Audi is on its way to a carbon-dioxide-neutral site in Ingolstadt.

That means that electrical and thermal energy comes entirely from

egenerative sources – from biogas plants to hydropower. “Cars and

heir production should have as little negative impact on the envi-onment as possible,” stresses Dreves. “Audi is linking sustainable

mobility with a climate-neutral site.”Peter Kössler has been working for Audi for the last 25

ears. “The growth of the company during this time has been enor-

mous,” relates the Works Manager for the Ingolstadt plant. In

1986, Audi put around 350,000 cars on the roads; in the record

ear of 2011 it was more than 1.3 million. A total of more than

580,000 of them were produced at the company’s headquarters in

ngolstadt, as were a large number of components, delivered to

ther locations in AUDI AG’s global network of production facilities.

n spite of increasing production volumes and although the current

models are considerably more complex and equipped with far more

ophisticated technologies, overall energy consumption has re-

mained at a stable level.The reduction in energy consumption and associated

missions has long been a central issue in the further development

f the plant and production facilities. Heavy heating oil was banned

s an energy source at Audi in 1983. It is made largely from resid-al material arising from the processing of crude oil and is still used

oday in many power stations. Its successor was the significantly

more environmentally compatible light heating oil – a ver y impor-ant step at the time. This contains considerably fewer impurities,

lot less sulfur and does not require additional heating prior to

ombustion. Back then, the transition to light heating oil avoided

5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.In 1992, however, Audi switched to natural gas, which

ased the CO₂ balance to the tune of 36,000 tonnes per year. Since

1999, an efficient Combined Heat Power and Cold facility in In-

olstadt has been delivering heat, electricity and cold simultane-

ously – an extremely efficient plant and truly pioneering achieve-ment by Audi. This plant produces a good proportion of the required

lectricity, heat and cold. The very high overall efficiency of the

CHPC plant of almost 80 percent avoids 17,200 tonnes of green-

ouse gases per year compared with conventional technology.In 2004, a further, extremely forward-looking project

was the district heating connection to the city’s waste incineration

plant. To date, the facility has been delivering more than 60,000

nvironmentally protecting Megawatt hours of heat annually,

voiding a further 12,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. Last year even

aw Audi double its use of district heating to 120,000 MWh.

urther steps toward 200,000 MWh of district heating are planned.

Cars and their production should have as little negativempact on the environment as possible. Audi is linking sustainable

mobility with a climate-neutral site.Frank DrevesAudi Board Member for Production 5,000

x1983x

xSwitch to light heating oil x

xReduction – 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per yearx

36,000x1992x

xSwitch to natural gasx


17,200x1999x

xSwitch to CHPC plantx


12,000x2004x

xSwitch to district heatingx



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The Ingolstadt paint shop is also operated in accor-

dance with the principle “recover heat instead of generating it”.

Rotating air-to-air heat exchangers* are used throughout. They are

normously efficient – they can recover 60 percent of the heat con-

ained in discharge air. This is worthwhile because the plant’s paint

hop moves a volume of around 4.5 mi llion cubic meters of air perour through the paint booths alone. This equates to the space in

Munich’s Allianz Arena. In 2011, Audi replaced the existing 34 rota-

ing air-to-air heat exchangers wi th new, more efficient rotating heat

xchangers. At the Ingolstadt plant alone, this avoids more than

16,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year and 80,000 MWh of energy – the

nnual heating requirement of around 7,400 single family homesAlongside these large-scale projects, Peter Kössler also

irects his attention toward the smaller, sometimes rather incon-picuous measures. “We take the entire issue very seriously – even

when it involves additional cost.” All workers, be they in production,

maintenance or planning, are urged to think about energy effi-

iency in their personal working environments. “And many heads

ave many ideas.”The engineers at the Ingolstadt press shop were able

o make a 66 percent energy saving by moving from hydraulic to

mechanical presses. Together with a shorter stopping time for the

motors driving the presses, they avoid 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide

per year. Thanks to innovative, electrically powered welding heads,

plant technicians in bodyshell manufacturing for the new Audi A3ave managed to dispense with the energy-intensive compressedir network.

Peter Kössler’s efficiency parade continues – new diode

asers* and the latest battery chargers also save power, while ef-

icient logistics avoid unnecessary journeys in all production areas.

And, last but not least, the behavior of every single worker makes

contribution – even when it is just a matter of switching off lights

n the common room when the break is over.Obviously, a lot of things have been tested and some

hings discarded. “We examine very closely where it makes sense

o implement innovative and energy-saving technologies,” stress-

s Kössler. The parameters for using photovoltaic panels on the

oofs of parking garages and production halls were also examinedn detail. Only solar modules optimized for recycling are permitted

on Audi roofs. In fact, in cooperation with external partners, Audi

s testing several new kinds of modules in respect of their efficien-

y, maintenance requirement and durability. The results provide

mportant information for the fur ther development of solar mod-les. An innovative photovoltaic installation with particularly en-

rgy-efficient modules is currently on the roof of the hall where the

ew A3 bodyshell is built. Every year, they generate around 460,000

kilowatt hours of renewable electricity and avoid approximately

250 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

16,000x2011x

xSwitch to more efficient rotating air-to-air heat exchangersx


50x2011x

xSwitch from hydraulic to mechanical pressesx

xReduction – 50 tonnes of carbon dioxide per yearx

250x2011x

xSwitch to innovative photovoltaic equipmentx

xReduction – 250 tonnes of carbon dioxide per yearx

We are examining very closely where itmakes sense to use innovativeand energy-saving technologies. Peter Kössler

* See glossary, p. 146 –147


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The latest step towards a balanced atmospheric carbon

ioxide account is the supply of eco-electricity to the plant: “Sinceanuary 2012, Ingolstadt has been supplied with electricity gener-

ted from renewable sources. This means that more than 290,000

onnes of CO₂ are avoided every year,” says Kössler with pleasure.

The electricity is delivered from German and Austrian hydroelectric

power stations – exactly as and when it is needed. The technical

prerequisites have been certified by TÜV Süd.“We want to make our own contribution, however, in-

dependent of the electricity supply from the Alps,” says Kössler.

We are considering wind turbines in the area close to our factory.That doesn’t mean that we want to replace the eco-electricity gen-

rated from hydropower. It is about gaining additional energy from

enewable sources.”“Our current success with environmental protection is

ncouraging us to take further climate-related steps,” stresses

Kössler. A next milestone in respect of CO₂ at the factory could be

o switch the fuel used entirely to biogas. “We expect this to give

us a reduction in greenhouse gases of around 123,000 tonnes,”

xplains Kössler. Audi c an also use the biogas derived from the

ermentation of biomass as fuel in the Combined Heat Power and

Cold plant, where it delivers a double benefit in terms of environ-

mental compatibility – it runs climate-neutral because the carbondioxide released into the atmosphere was previously contained

within the plants. And, at the same time, its energy will be used

with a very high degree of efficiency.“We are also considering a biomass plant and a so-called

ORC power plant (Organic Rankine Cycle).” The biomass plant could

un on wood chips as a biogenic fuel. The works manager sets a great

eal of store by this proposal, as it would burn only scrap wood like

off-cuts, landscaping material or waste wood from the forest.An ORC power plant – integrated into the existing CHPC

acility – could avoid at least 4,000 tonnes of CO₂. This power sta-

ion will recover valuable energy largely from the roughly 120-de-ree Celsius low-temperature waste heat. The working materials

in place of water vapor) are organic fluids with an exceptionally

ow evaporation temperature that drive a turbine. T his means that

ensible use can be made of even a small temperature difference

with heat that would otherwise be lost.These considerations show that climate neutrality is

lready achievable for Ingolstadt. And the other Audi sites are seto follow suit. Each already has an individual roadmap. “In planning

he new facility at our Hungarian factory in Győr, we were able to

ake into account the results from Ingolstadt right from the begin-

ing,” states Kössler.With groundbreaking technical innovations, Audi is

lready contributing to major progress in the efficient manage-

ment of resources and carries the European Union seal for out-

tanding environmental protection. In 2010, the Ingolstadt site

eceived a special commendation for its environmental manage-

ment and dedication. The plant was the fir st automotive facility to

eceive the DEKRA certificate for the integration of the latest Euro-

pean standard on energy management systems into existing struc-

ures and processes. The standard sets extremely tough demandsor a continual and systematic reduction in energy consumption –nd Audi meets these in full.

290,000x2012x

xSwitch to eco-electricityx


123,000xFuture objectivex

xFuel supply 100 percent biogasx


4,000xFuture objectivex

xCommissioning of ORC power stationx


Ingolstadt has been supplied with energygenerated from renewable sourcessince January 2012. With this move, we are avoidingmore than 290,000 tonnes of CO₂ every year. Peter Kössler


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People in production Resource conservation and environmental protectionis a priority for Audi. However, this is only possible through the dedicated involvementof all employees. One example – the Ingolstadt plant.

Team Players

eter Kössler, Works Manager of theAudi Ingolstadt Plant.


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Erich Deinböck, Paint Shop

Paint bath on idle:Vehicle bodies receive their corrosion protection in the cathodic dip coating* process. To ensure that thecoating material retains its quality, the bath i s completely recirculated once an hour. “The pumps have to runcontinuously,” says Erich Deinböck, Paint Shop Production Manager. “But not at the weekend.” Duringdowntimes, a slower circulation rate i s sufficient. Deinböck continues: “We now use frequency converters toreduce the speed of the pumps. This saves around 24,000 kilowatt hours of electricity every year.”

Tobias Braunstein, Press Shop

Magnetic idea:Tobias Braunstein, a tool mechanic in the press shop, is protecting the environment with the help of powerfulmagnets. In the deep drawing process*, metal blanks are given their future component form – sheet by sheet.In order to release one sheet of metal safely from the stack and lay it automatically into the press, the equipmentworked with magnets and compressed air. “However, we don’t need the compressed air anymore,” explainsBraunstein proudly. New, more powerful magnets are now handling the j ob – without additional assistance.“We are saving around 1.4 million k ilowatt hours of energy per year.”

ext

atricia PiekenbrockPhotos

Stefan Warter

“Our people go through the factory with

their eyes wide open,” says Peter Kössler,

Works Manager of the Ingolstadt Plant, describing the attitude of

is Audi coworkers. “All our major advancements in efficiency andesource conservation are thanks to the personal involvement of

very individual. Alertness is an absolute must, as are responsibil-

ty and motivation.”“Employees have to want environmental protection for

ts own sake,”says Peter Kössler, who’s area of responsibility ex-

ends to 17,500 people. “That calls for motivation from within.”

For the works manager this means a clear focus on objectives,

working together across different departments, stringent pro-

esses and a strong work ethic on all levels. Success is his endorse-

ment – as Audi’s showcase plant, Ingolstadt will be a CO₂-neutral

ite in the foreseeable future.If a worker has an idea for improvement or saving en-

rgy within his own area it is noted on the ‘green list’. The same

pplies to ideas born in the specially appointed “energy savings

eams”. Every worker has the opportunity to present his efficiencyuggestions to the management directly and regardless of hierar-

hy. Within this body, the ideas are discussed openly and receive

upport for concrete implementation in day-to-day production.

The intention is for Kösslers people to feel united across

all levels and to be passionate not only in addressing the overall

picture, but also in developing their attention to detail. The culture

process known as ‘Imagine’ was established by the works manager

in 2007 and is specifically aimed at achieving this. Peter Kössler isopening up new latitude to his people – at times with unconven-

tional initiatives.Last year, Kössler organized a one-off management

conference involving the entire first level of operational manage-

ment – the foremen of the Ingolstadt plant. The objective was to

communicate to this level of management the ideas of ‘Imagine’

and the vision ‘We are generating an enthusiasm for Audi’. At the

end of the day, production foremen in particular should be proud

of what is achieved at Audi. As part of this event, Kössler specifiedthe construction of a technically complex and imposing course

made from model car race track and domino tiles. The production

foremen were then able to experience the meaning of a high-per-

formance system in a light-hearted manner. In a chain reaction

involving around 20,000 domino tiles and a host of special effects,

the miniature cars with friction motors were sent around a large

globe – a huge achievement by all involved that generated enor-

mous enthusiasm.

Bernhard Kerner and Reinhard Mayershofer, Brake Disc Manufacturing

Clever diversion:The machining of brake discs, known as turning, produces dust and heat. “We no longer blow the warm airoutside,” explains Reinhard Mayershofer, a technician in brake disc manufacturing. “We have turnedwaste air into recirculated air and now use the heat from the turning process* to warm the hall,” continues hiscoworker Bernhard Kerner. By converting the equipment to recirculate the air, around 582,000 kilowatthours of valuable energy are saved ever y year.

— 1,400,000 kWh

— 24,000 kWh

— 582,000 kWh



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6 Encounter Environment

The Schefflenz snakes and babbles its way around green

islands. Wild ducks sun themselves. Shoals of fish ca-

vort in the clear water, while gray herons wade through

the reeds at the bank – an idyll for which Martin Förch

fought very hard.Two years ago, bulldozers advanced to

straighten the stream near Allfeld, north of Neckar-

sulm, for a flood protection project. However, becausethe construction work would have destroyed the natu-ral habitat of many stream residents, Audi employee

Förch began campaigning to protect and restore the

stream. Shortly before construction started he was able

to recover the fish from the affected area and bring

them to another part of the stream that would not be

impacted by the work.It is also thanks to Förch’s initiative that the

reconstruction of the stream was designed more sus-

tainably than had originally been planned. For instance,

islands were integrated into the river to serve as breed-

ing grounds for ducks and other birds. Rocks in the

stream offer sanctuary for fish, and they can lay their

eggs in the coarse gravel. “My ai m is to return the stream

to its original state and to fill it w ith sustainable life,”says Förch summing up his concerns.

Together with the Allfeld angling communi-

ty, Förch is also taking care of the stream’s husbandry.For the amateur anglers this means clearing the banks,

disposing of debris and looking after the tree popula-

tion. In order to secure fish populations in the Scheff-

lenz on a sustainably basis, Förch is now planning a

so-called breeding box project, which involves removing

and then incubating fertilized trout eggs.

Restoring a stream

Martin Förch – the amateur angler is activelyinvolved in restoring a stream.

Passion!Passionate about the environment

Audi employees also take a private interest in nature – often withconsiderable dedication. They demonstrate their commitmentby taking care of animals or bodies of water or by participating in environmental

organizations or societies. We bring you seven examples.

My aim is to return the stream to its original stateand to fill it with sustainable life.

Martin Förch

ext

uise NiemschPhotos

Stefan Warter


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For us, it is always a wonderful experience to tastethe first honey from our own bees. It’s hard to

imagine a more direct return on your commitment.

Michael Wansner


Close to Audi’s Ingolstadt plant, right behind the Tech-

nical Development building, a great deal is going on.

There’s a humming and buzzing in the air. When it’s time

for take-off, the sky turns dark and the air heaves. No

wonder, this area is now home to half a million honey

bees. The masters of the bees are Andreas Kopp and Mi-

chael Wansner. In a joint project with the Audi Envi ron-ment Foundation, the two beekeepers have in stalled

eight beehives in the Max-Emanuel Park in Ingolstadt

and converted the area into a small bee paradise.Recent years have seen the depletion of bee

populations become an increasing problem – this coin-

cided with a reduction in the number of beekeepers that

could take care of them. It was this that inspired Koppand Wansner to become involved. They joined their

local beekeeping association three years ago and estab-

lished their own bee colonies. The two men, who work as

energy managers in Technical Development, now have

20 colonies in their care. “For us, it is always a wonder-ful experience to taste the first honey from our own

bees. It’s hard to imagine a more direct return on your

commitment,” says Michael Wansner. Above all, how-

ever, Wansner and Kopp are making an important con-

tribution to the environment with their hobby, as bees

maintain plant diversity with their pollination activities.“Working with bees is never dull. Every colo-

ny has its own character. Their moods depend on the

weather. When the weather is bad, for instance, the

bees are lethargic and more likely to sting. And when

the weather is good, they can’t wait to get going. It is

always exciting and varied,” says Andreas Kopp. The

engineers have planted the area in a bee-friendly way,

with lupines, bee trees and plants like lavender, corn-

flowers, chamomile and mint. Alongside their eight bee-

hives, they have also built a small material shed. Koppand Wansner carry out some “public relations” work for

their favorite animals, too. For their next project, they

plan to prepare a hollow tree stump as a bee showcase– to offer interested parties a glimpse into a bee colony.

Andreas Kopp and Michael Wansner -

The Audi beekeepers proudly present theirbusy workers.

Beekeepers


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Making the bodyshell for the new Audi A3A new, highly efficient factory for a new, highly efficient

automobile – the bodyshell of the new Audi A3 is built with innovative technologieson state-of-the-art equipment. Efficiency and sustainability were the focalpoint of the planning process for N 60 production hal l.

N 60 – hiding behind the unassuming acronym isthe state-of-the-art bodyshell production facility for the A3.


Experience the state-of-the-art N 60 productionhall and the production of the new Audi A3 on video!www.encounter.audi.com


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Encounter Environment

As brightas day – morethan 2,000squaremetersofglasssurfaceon thenorth façadedelivera comfortableworking climate.

Around 800 people and just as many robotswork in the light-colored building on the

tedgeofthe factorycomplexinIngolstadt– efficientlymini mumuseof resources.Asis thecaseeverywhereat

erybestqualityisthetop priority.RainerWeiß,Specialistanager, Bodyshell Manufacturing, and Roland Fürholzer,nergy/FacilityTechnology,arefullof praiseforthenew A3heir”newbodyshellmanufacturingfacility,whichwascon-pecifically for thisvehicle.When itcomestohi-tech and

ficiency, both the building and the new production equip-ust as good as the new car. On an impressive 219 by 134

he new hall offers an overall area of around 50,000 squarerproductionequipmentalone.Its heightofmorethans is divided into two production levels, each with threenes– thesovereignterritoryo fthis equipmentreaches

ersintothe aironboth levels,followedby almostfourr the conveyor technology. On the top level are the supplyith ducting for ventilation,media,gasand electricity.

To the north of the building is the logistics annex. Itboth ahandlingarea andbuffer.Theparts requiredformanufacturingaredelivered hereonan areaof around

are meters. Dedicated “building vehicles” then take overard transportation into the production hall – with zerosions. “We have laid out the production hall to enable theparts to be supplied via the shortest possible route. Thising,energy and time,” explainsRainer Weiß.

Twomulti-levelbuildingsflank thehallon eitherside.

e offices, common rooms for the workers and a diverseechnologyareas. Theprincipleofefficientlogisticsap-, too – workers take just a few steps from the factory doornging rooms and are then quickly in the production area.

s automatically ventilated during the night; during thever,thewindowsremainclosedforenergyreasons.Plentytfloodsthehall, thankstomorethan 2,000squareme-ssonthenorth façade.Nevertheless,around3,000lights

equired and they, of course, need electricity. However,r sets clear limits on their consumption. Efficient fluores-swithhighlightdensityareparforthe course,asarelightnd an automatic light control system. And to ensure that

rgetstoswitchthem off,therearemovementsensors.hting and the access to the factory hall are equipped with.

The sun provides even more – on the roof of the newproduction hall, Weiß and Fürholzer present a state-of-the-art pho-tovoltaicinstallation.Over anareaof 7,500squaremeters, mod-

ules convert sunlight efficiently into electric energy. “Through thissystem alone, we generate around 460,000 kilowatt hours of elec-tricityperyear thatwecan usevirtuallyloss-freein thehall,”ex-plains Fürholzer. That equates to the annual energy supply foraround140singlefamilyhomesand saves245tonnesof carbondioxide emissions. The ongoing search for savings potential is par-ticularly rewarding in bodyshell manufacturing because, at around14 percent, it is the second largest energy consumer in the processchainafterthepaint shop.38percentis requiredforthecompo-nentsand equipment,28percentfor heat,27percentfor ventila-tionand,finally, sevenpercentforl ighting.Andto staycontinu-ouslyontop ofthekilowatt hoursandcarbondioxideemissions,thecompany takesan holistic approach.Every employeeistaskedwith delivering ideas from his or her individual working environ-ment. The in-house training institute Audi Akademie offers thequalification program “Energy Productivity in Manufacturing”, atraining course at the Institute for Machine Tools and ManagementStudies,which ispartofthe Technical University ofMunich.Invig-oratedbyfacts onconsumptionanalysis andoptimization meth-

ods,employeesaretrained onhowthey canmaketheir ownper-sonal contribution tothereduction ofenvironmental damage.

Rainer Weiß, SpecialistProjectManager,BodyshellManufacturing,andRoland Fürholzer,Head ofEnergy/ Facility Technology, ensureenergy-efficientproduction.

N 60

kenbrockPhotosStefan Warter


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Employees can already directly apply their know-how

in energy reduction in the manufacturing hall of the new Audi A3.Every single vehicle cell is equipped with an open and easy-to-readenergy consumption display. The counters show the current energy

and compressed air consumption of a specific piece of equipment.

Thus, every employee can spot changes and, if necessary, take ac-tion against an energy loss.

“In selecting the system components, we took into ac-count the expected energy consumption over the equipment life-

cycle. We also conducted an extensive study in order to understand

better the influence of load, size, weight and speed on the electric-

ity consumed by a robot,” explains Rainer Weiß. The reduction of

mass to be moved by robot is an important aspect of this. As a re-

sult, the technologies of modern lightweight design are not pure-ly the preserve of efficient Audi models, but can also be found in

the new production hall. Rainer Weiß points to the new roof fram-er*, part of which is made from carbon-fiber reinforced polymer

(CFRP)*; “Compared with steel variants, this is 70 percent lighter.”

The fixing of the vehicle roof is thus significantly faster and con-

sumes less electricity.

Production facilities for bodyshell manufacturing on

this scale consume ca. 1,300 MWh per year in electrical energy onweekend standby alone. But even the most efficient equipment

needs to take a break from time to time. In which case, it should

not be put on standby, but switched off completely. Using an intel-

ligent switch-off concept, electricity supply is maintained to only

the SPS control and a few service computers – meaning that the

standby figure cited above can be reduced by up to 80 percent. Technicians have expanded the intelligent switch-off

concept to all PCs, operating consoles, monitors and the central

equipment monitoring system. Switching off this equipment at the

weekend saves further electricity. One special case is the control

cabinets – these unassuming nerve centers cannot be completely

switched off for safety reasons. “We are transferring certain control

components out of the control cabinets directly into the equip-

ment, and combining several functions into modular units.”Welding guns are the key tool for the production of a

solid and precise vehicle bodyshell. Until now, they were operatedpneumatically, which requires an expensive and energy-intensive

compressed air network. Rainer Weiß has equipped the new hall

with the latest generation of welding guns driven by electric motors

– they are faster and require less maintenance than their pneu-

matic predecessors, and improve working conditions, too, because

they are only half as loud. The i nnovative welding equipment is justone of many examples of how Weiß and Fürholzer have pooled their

diverse know-how. Buildings technology and equipment technol-

ogy complement one another very efficiently. “For cooling the

welding equipment, we divert a proportion of the service water*

from the town’s waste water line directly into our hall,” says Roland

Fürholzer. The water is heated from 12 to 17 degrees in a heat ex-changer and then fed back into the main line and onward to otherconsumers within the plant. “This idea saves one quarter of the

cooling power required for the equipment and therefore 760

tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. A customer could drive more

than 5.6 million kilometers in an Audi A4 2.0 TDI with that!”Lasers have become a fixed feature of modern bodyshell

production; since the turn of the century, they have been a common

tool in material processing. Precision welding, soldering, cutting or

curing are not a problem for this high-energy light – the price, how-

ever, is relatively high electricity consumption. For this reason, the

experts at Audi have replaced conventional solid state lasers withpowerful compact disc and diode lasers*, which are more efficient.

On standby – switching off bodyshell manufacturing equipmentat the weekend saves around 1,300 MWh of energy peryear. With intelligent shut-down technology, consumption canbe reduced by up to 80 percent.

80 %

Precision work – during production-relateddowntime, robots and equipment immediately godirectly into energy-efficient standby mode.


Welding work – modern robots join bodyshellparts with extremely low energy consumption.



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One particularly powerful combination of lasers and

welding in the production of the new A3 bodyshell is remote laserwelding technology. To build a vehicle door, the laser beam is guid-

d using a robot scanner with pivoting mirror optics. It jumps ex-

remely quickly from one seam to the next. For 50 seams at a length

f 25 millimeters each it needs just 26 seconds. The complex turn-

ng and positioning of each workpiece is a thing of the past. The disc

aser has no problem dealing even with bodyshell parts that are

wkward to access or that are made from different materials. The

welded seams themselves are thinner and more precise – in keeping

with the brand’s consistently high quality standards.Comfortable working conditions for the workforce in-

lude a constant supply of fresh air. In the production hall alone,

1.6 million cubic meters of air has to be completely exchanged

very hour – without drafts or the air feeling cold. “We’re very ef-

icient at this, too,” underscores Roland Fürholzer. “The modern

entilation center controls all air movements with an eye on re-

ource conservation. We even manage to recover some of the en-

rgy,” says Fürholzer.Rotating air-to-air heat exchangers* are the energy-

fficient solution for ventilating the factory hall. Warm waste heat

s blown through the heat exchanger. Honeycomb channels in theour-meter diameter wheel store the extracted energy in one half

of the space, while cold outside air flows through the other half.

Because it rotates at two revs per minute, the heat is transferred

rom one airstream to the other, thus warming the cold outside air.

The heat exchangers in the 16 ventilation units avoid a total of 207

onnes of carbon dioxide. The waste heat from the gelling oven is

sed in a similar way to heat the supply air in the ventilation system

of the logistics bay and to generate warm water. There are also

plans to display the energy-saving initiatives implemented by the

Energy/Facility Technology department online on a screen in the

isitor room to make them transparent to visitors, too.Energy recovery even takes place during transport of

he bodyshells. Resources are conserved by recuperating energy

rom the rack conveyor vehicle during braking and reusing it for

rive and lift operations, with any excess then fed into the electric-

ty grid. Almost 46 tonnes of CO₂ and a total of 86,000 kilowatt

ours of electricity are saved this way – equal to the annual electric-

ty consumption of 25 single family homes.

Be they large or small – Rainer Weiß and Roland Für-

holzer have worked together with specialists to consider countless

measures for successfully reducing environmental damage while

improving quality. The tour through the modern production facil-

ity for Audi A3 bodyshells makes quite an impression. They even

have an answer to the question regarding an apparently mundanepart of everyday working life, i.e. cleanliness. A new system using

coconut brushes facilitates cleaning without cleaning fluids and

additives. “Around four kilometers of tracks and paths must be

cleaned in the hall every single day. However, we haven’t yet calcu-

lated how much CO₂ we are saving with this!”

The N 60 production hall has around50,000 square meters for workers, robots and countless pieces of equipment.At around 4,300 square meters, the logistics annex functionsas interim storage and buffer.

Environmentally-friendlycleaning system – coconut brushes save oncleaning fluids and chemicals.

Complex inner life – in the N 60production hall, experts prove thatstate-of-the-art technology,efficiency and sustainability can be united.

Airy – a constant supply of air ensures a comfort-able working environment. Rotating air-to-airheat exchangers and an intelligent air managementsystem ensure energy efficiency and reduce CO₂emissions by 207 tonnes per year.

219 x134 m



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Structural Sustainability Thomas Rau is an architect in Amsterdam and a campaigner for newforms of sustainable resource management. With Audi Board Member forProduction Frank Dreves, he discusses intelligent building, cars as rolling stocks ofraw materials and the path to using instead of owning.

Energy Conservation


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Herr Rau, Herr Dreves, when it comes to

ecological issues, politics and society

are riddled with action for the sake of action in line with the trend

of the day. You, on the other hand, have to take decisions that

have very long-term consequences. Does the topic of the

day have any role to play in the struggle for more sustainability?

Frank Dreves: Politics, of course, have a role to play in

defining the framework in which we operate; and current changeswithin society are also reflected in the demands made by our cus-

tomers. However, as a company, we cannot allow ourselves to wait

for these developments. Instead, we have to act in advance – be-

cause the comparatively long product and investment cycles in our

industry demand it. At Audi, we have a long-term strategy to im-

prove on an ongoing basis not only the sustainability of our prod-

ucts, but also of our production. By way of example, since 1999 we

have been using highly efficient Combined Heat Power and Cold

(CHPC). Since 2004, the Ingolstadt factory has been supplied with

excess heat from a waste incineration plant in the city of Ingolstadt.

Our heat regeneration facilities in production save energy and re-

duce carbon dioxide emissions. With the CHPC alone, we have al-

ready reduced the CO₂ emissions of the Ingolstadt plant by 17,200

tonnes per year. In the long term, we want to multiply this figure.The same applies to water consumption – the plant is systemati-

cally set up for the use of waste water that is recycled in an eco-

logical closed-loop circuit and used multiple times. These things

don’t come into being because of external demand, but because

we feel a sense of responsibility. It is completely independent of the

politics of the day.Thomas Rau: Politics often has little to do with actual

necessity and more with whichever social lobby is the strongest atany given point in time. In my actions, on the other hand, I am

guided by what I believe to be my j ob. For me, that means pushing

forward system innovation. Take, for example, the term “passive

house”. I don’t even like the sound of it – who wants to be passive?I don’t want to approach the energy issue from the savings side,

but instead create an active house that even generates energy. We

have built a school in the Netherlands that generates more energy

than it uses – the excess goes into the sports hall and a neighboring

residential area. Even the students’ body heat is used for this ho-

listic concept. The question for me is – What are the values that we

have to address in a new way? The economy is often a good deal

farther ahead in that respect than politics.Dreves: My objective is to make our factory sites com-

pletely CO₂-neutral. In Ingolstadt, we have already taken a whole

series of steps in this direction, and we will follow them system-

atically at our other locations, too. However, this can only be achieved

in a symbiosis of economy and ecology, because the money that we

invest in achieving our objective also has to be earned. Saving water

costs money initially, but if you use the right technology, the invest-

ment pays for itself within a relatively short period of time. It is

therefore completely feasible to unite short-term benefits with

long-term objectives.Rau: The human being has short-term and long-term

needs. We must fulfill them in a manner that is not at the expense

of others. And this calls for new approaches. And what might they be?

Rau: The needs cycle of a customer is often completely

different from the lifecycle of a product. Nowadays, customer

needs sometimes change faster than the lifecycle of a purchased

device. Almost all of us have an old computer or stereo standing

around in the cellar or attic that proves this point. Therefore, the

customer should purchase a specific function or service and not the

device itself. He or she would buy, for example, “ten years of music”

or “30 years of floor coverings”. This would create a whole new in-centive for change. That is also what I mean by system innovation.

Dreves: A building is a ki nd of generational contract. If

you build a parking garage with more than 8,000 spaces, you don’t

tear it down tomorrow. It carries into the next generation. Before

we talk about the future, we have to take a look at today. Even theconstruction of a single family home is fraught with many ques-

tions – especially when it comes to sustainability. What building

materials do you want to use? What form of insulation? What is

recyclable? You can imagine that these questions are far more com-

plex when it comes to the construction of an office block or a pro-

duction hall. In this situation, I have to make a lot of decisions and

carefully weigh up one solution against another. Because if you are

striving for CO₂-neutrality as the main objective, the very first steps

you take have to be the right ones.

Text

Dirk MaxeinerPhotos

Stefan Warter

At Audi, we have a long-term strategy to improve on an ongoingbasis not only the sustainability of our products,but also of our production – not because of external demand,but because we feel a sense of responsibility. Frank Dreves

WWF Netherlands

CO₂-neutral – in 2006, Rau converted the Dutchheadquarters of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)into a CO₂-neutral building. It even has nesting areasfor birds and sleeping facilities for bats.

CHPC plant

For optimum energy efficiency – in Ingolstadt,Audi uses a Combined Heat Power and Cold plant.It achieves excellent efficiency of 78 percent.Together with district heating, it makes an importantcontribution to a CO₂-neutral site.

© P

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Rau: A private builder/owner often has no idea what

questions have to be asked. And when he asks them, he receives

he wrong answer. In our office we say – built space is a service. I

alk with my clients about the service quality he wants. How I then

ranslate that into technology and construction is then a matter

or the experts. If you give me a job, you simply have to define to

me the parameters – I want a house of a certain size, I want a posi-

ive energy balance, I want an optimum interior climate, I want

nly building materials that have been proven not to be harmful to

ealth, and so on. As the customer, you don’t have to think in terms

f solutions, materials or products. Instead, you have to articulate

he “performance” that you desire. Just like a car customer who

ays: I want a fancy car for four people that has a range of 400 ki-

ometers and an energy consumption equivalent to three liters of

asoline per 100 kilometers. Whether that works best with a com-

bustion engine, a hybrid or an electric motor is then a matter for

he engineers. Architectural demands should really be couched inhese terms.

Dreves: And how many architects of this kind are there?

Rau: Not very many. But architects, too, must realize

hat they can’t build any old monument at the customer’s cost.

Architecture is a spatial service, a service for people. I have to cre-te places for people in which they can realize themselves. And then

buildings will also be far less expensive. Our buildings today are

much too expensive because we build things that we simply no

onger need. The Romans, for instance, cooled all public buildings

and without the use of electric air conditioning. Nowadays you

an cool offices by intelligently laying the water lines used for toilet

lushing – actually a very simple solution.Dreves: I agree. In order to achieve something good it

sn’t always necessary to have big ideas – often it’s the small stepshat achieve a great deal. In our works halls, for example, we no

onger use epoxy resin floors, but simply colored screed. That mayound dull at first, but it avoids a waste issue at a later date.

Does that also benefit the people who work here?

Dreves: In everything I do, I always try to put people at

he center point. They are priority number one at Audi – and our

most important resource. And when we manage to simplify a pro-edure through a new process or a new tool, then it is always also

ood for the quality of the product – and that is how we are mea-

ured. In the paint shop, the employees used to be stuck in protec-

ive suits to shield them from the paint particles. Today, we can

ontrol the airflow – and thus the paint application – so precisely

hat they are no longer necessary. Production is more efficient,

leaner and the working environment of the individual more pleas-

nt. And the improvements that are made at the suggestion of the

mployees are usually also the most sustainable. For me, it is there-

ore important that my coworkers “learn to see”; that they them-

elves discover what they can improve. When they then notice that

heir ideas have been taken on board, it is highly motivating.

Rau: We are spiritual beings. And certain communica-

tion only takes place when people get together. That’s how inspira-

tion occurs. That doesn’t happen on Facebook. Before we start work

on a construction, I invite all of the workers to a presentation. I tell

them how the design of this building was originated and what it isthey will actually be working on. This gives them a very different

and motivating connection to their work. People need to identify

with what they are doing. And you have to build this connection.Let’s stay with people for now. They want to

be proud of something, and proud of what they own.

Herr Rau, you want to move away from ownership and toward

the usage of products.

Rau: In my opinion, the question of ownership is key. Ibelieve that we identify ourselves far too much by the things that

we own – the car, the house or the latest-generation cell phone. Two

years ago, I decided to clear my office of as much ownership as

possible. I invited a lighting manufacturer over and said to him: “Iwould like to have light. I’ll buy a certain quality of light from you

for 365 days a year.” And it works. Audi shouldn’t sell cars anymore?

Rau: In my concept, the car and therefore all the raw

materials for the entire lifecycle remain in the possession of the

manufacturer, as a rolling store of raw materials. You could say that

the raw materials are temporarily configured in the form of a car.

And sometime in the future, these raw materials can then be reused

to create something else. This is somewhat different from partial

recycling.

For me, being sustainable means dealing with resources insuch a way as not to lose them. Everyone that comes tothis earth should be able to benefit from them, in future, too Thomas Rau

Christiaan Huygens College

CO₂-positive – the Christiaan Huygens College in Eindhovenis the first CO₂-neutral and energy-producing school inthe Netherlands. The classrooms, for instance, are warmed by body heat.Unused excess energy goes to a nearby residential area.

Audi A3 bodyshell manufacturing

For the new Audi A3 – Audi built a completelynew production hall with the latest in energy efficiency,as a contributor to a CO₂-neutral site.

© N

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As a consequence, it would mean that Audi would no

longer sell cars, but rather mobility. That car is only made available

to the customer for a defined period of time to provide a defined

service. And because the company itself has to bear the conse-

quences of a good or a bad design itself, cars will probably look

different. And that is how we get innovation. We have to take the

step from consumption to usage.Dreves: Nevertheless, we can’t forget about the per-

sonal pleasure of ownership. The car has a powerful emotional di-mension for people. In that way, it is very different from a television

or a washing machine. We will certainly continue to sell our cars.

However, that doesn’t preclude us from thinking in parallel in very

different directions. There will surely be changes in usage behavior

– how fast and to what extent this kind of rethinking will take place

will only become evident over time. Are there already any examples of such concepts.

Dreves: We are currently using a number of different

projects to test what our customers really expect from such con-

cepts and, first and foremost, what they actually need. Of course,we are also doing this under the premise of economic feasibility.

One example is the Audi urban concept, a compact electric car for

city traffic. We are currently discussing the idea of a low-volume

run with an innovative leasing model.Sustainability has become a buzzword that can be

interpreted in all sorts of ways. What does sustainability mean

to you, personally?

Rau: For me, sustainability has to do with mindset, not

with solutions. All the resources of this world are common prop-

erty that has been made available to humanity. And the question

is – How do we deal with that? For me, being sustainable means

dealing with these things in such a way as not to lose them.

Everyone that comes to this earth should be able to benefit from

them, in future, too. So far, we have been economizing the ecology.

Instead, we have to ecologize the economy.Dreves: And for me, that mindset has to do with con-

servation. I was brought up not to waste things, but to feel a sense

of responsibility for them. If we take responsibility actively and on

a long-term basis, it means acting in the interests of a good qual-

ity of life for future generations of employees and customers. At

Audi, we implement this responsibility in the way we deal with our

employees, in our products and, above all, in their production, too.

And our responsibility doesn’t stop as soon as our cars roll off the

lot. We look at the entire process chain – through to recycling our

cars. If you systematically examine and improve every single step,

then it is no longer necessary to talk up sustainability. At Audi, wehave been thinking and acting this way for a very long time, without

talking about it very much. That, too, is ‘learning to see’.

“I can’t build anything else than sustainably. Our bodies

are amazingly regulated. They can regulate themselves

with very simple means. Why shouldn’t that work for a

building?” This is the principle adhered to by Thomas

Rau. He has been the owner of the RAU architectural

office in Amsterdam since 1992. He would like to de-

sign his buildings to extract their energy from their

surroundings, thus making them CO₂-neutral. Rau also

sees people as a factor that can not only consume en-

ergy, but also generate it.Rau lives and works in the knowledge that

every action has an effect – ecological, economical and

social. And this is why, with every project, the architect

takes into consideration the history of the site, the

needs of the occupier and the local surroundings.Whether a building is public or private, Rau

is far from reaching the end of the road in his search for

intelligent alternatives for saving energy. For him, one

thing is clear, “why build CO₂-neutral, when you can also

build CO₂-positive?”

If you systematically examine and improve every single step,then it is no longer necessary to talk up sustainability. At Audi,wehave been thinking and acting this way for a very long time. Frank Dreves

Rotating air-to-air heat exchanger

ffective heat recovery – in the Ingolstadt paint shoplone, rotating air-to-air heat exchangers avoid the emissionf more than 23,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Natuurcafé La Porte

Innovative revolving door – when they enter viathe revolving door, guests at a café in the Netherlands aregenerating some of the energy required tomake their coffee through a kind of dynamo technology.

Thomas Rau oneplanetarchitecture

© B

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Piez

It is clearly evident in the high-energy at-

mosphere of a dance floor – the human body is a power

tation and every movement produces energy. One

breath generates roughly 1 Watt and every step around

70 Watts. Chemist Michael McAlpine from Princeton

University in the USA had the idea of making practical

use of this energy. So he put nanometer thin strips of

piezoelectric crystals – known as PZT (Lead Zirconate

Titanate) – into a rubber-like silicone membrane. Inte-grated into clothing or shoes, this ‘piezo rubber’ con-

erts the body’s kinetic energy into electricity via the

mechanical deformation of the membrane. This can

hen be used to supply power to small electronic de-

ices such smartphones or pacemakers. It would also

be conceivable to lay this piezo r ubber into heavily traf-

icked flooring, such as the dance floors in clubs onwhich thousands of people release energy that is simply

here for the taking.

Power dancers – piezo rubber in the dance floorconverts human energy into electricity.

Body Power

MagazineOnly those who look beyond their ownhorizons can evaluate and build on their own progress.

Sustainability news from around the world.

or further information see www.princeton.edu

High tide and low tide – the sea i s constant-

ly in motion. Through the gravitational pull between

earth, moon and sun, the tides represent an inexhaust-

ible source of energy. Swedish company Minesto has

developed a completely new principle for the use of

tidal energy. In contrast to conventional stationary

tidal power plants, the ‘Deep Green’ project uses mobile

turbines that are fitted with a wing and tethered to the

seabed with cables, like buoys. The turbine moves with

the tides and currents like a kite in the wind.This hydrodynamic technology is notewor-

thy for its relatively high energy yield at comparativelylow cost. It is ideally suited to deep seas and low current

velocities, i.e. places not best suited to the use of sta-

tionary equipment. First pilot projects off the coast of

Northern Ireland are currently in the planning stages.

A simple outlet is not enough. The electro-

mobility of the future calls for a widespread and intel-

ligently organized network of charging stations avail-

able round-the-clock. In the USA, Coulomb Technolo-

gies is already operating a well-functioning network of

e-charging stations. Around 5,300 ‘Charge Points’ are

already installed on company parking lots, at shoppingmalls and on public parking lots, and the supply net-

work continues to grow. Energy providers offer their

customers the opportunity to ‘fill up’ at these charging

stations using a customer card. It is then invoiced in

arrears with a monthly electricity bill. Payment by cred-

it card is also available as an alternative. The entire in-

voice management process is handled by the electricity

provider online via cloud server.The service is also very straightforward for

the customer. A smartphone app shows him all the sta-

tions close to his location and whether they are cur-

rently in service and available for use.

E-Charge

Deep Green

M i n e s t o

C o u l o m b T e c h n o l o g i e s , I n c .

For further information see

www.minesto.com

E-Charge – acceptance of electromobility will stand orfall on the quality of the supply network.


www.coulombtech.com

E



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Power

50The Puna, the highlands of the Andes in

northwestern Argentina, is at an altitude of almost

4,000 meters and the landscape has little to offer the

ndigenous people. Vegetation is meager and wood, the

raditional fuel, very hard to come by. Migration is the

utcome, with all its associated social problems for the

ities. The EcoAndina Foundation has set itself the task

of offering the people of the Puna another perspectivewith the help of solar energy – because, if there is o ne

hing they have in excess, it is energy from the sun. The

armers of the Puna now do their cooking and baking

with solar ovens that are amazingly simple in their con-

truction and easy to build in-situ. A mobile parabolic

mirror gathers and focuses the sun’s energy on a hot-

pot, sufficient to bring a pot of water to the boil in a

ery short time or to heat a large oven to several hun-

red degrees Celsius. Further sustainable development

projects from the EcoAndina Foundation for the use ofolar energy include sun collectors for heating water

nd homes, as well as solar power production. Solar

modules supply electricity to pumps for irrigating fields,

s well as to satellite telephones and other communica-

ion equipment and media.

Solar Fire

or further information see

www.ecoandina.org

Silent consumers is the name given to elec-

trical devices and appliances that send electricity bills

sky rocketing. They sit invisibly and usually unneces-

sarily in standby operation, or have possibly been left

switched on by accident. The plethora of electrical andelectronic appliances in modern households makes it

difficult to retain an overview and we are simply un-

aware of their electricity consumption. The Swedish

Interactive Institute for Research and Design is coming

to our aid and wants to make actual energy consump-

tion visible with a very enlightening idea. The electric

‘Power Aware Cord’ illuminates with varying brightness

depending on electricity consumption. The cable not

only transports electricity, but also shows the consum-

er that electricity is currently flowing and being used.

This optical aid is intended to ensure that electrical

energy is used more consciously and efficiently in the

household and that available potential for energy sav-ings is better exploited.

Power Control


www.tii.se

Skydrop

Water falls from the sky on its own – when

it rains. In desert areas, this is a rather rare occurrenceand, in catastrophic cases, there is often no time to wait

for precipitation as a source of clean drinking water. For

such cases, relief is at hand from the ‘Skydrop’. The in-

vention of Brazilian designer Murilo Gomes from São

Paulo consists of a helium-filled airship equipped withfin-like rotor blades. The rotor is driven by the wind and

produces electricity. The electricity flows through Peltier

elements made from two semi-conductor materials

with different energy levels. The flow of electricity cools

the Peltier element and this cooling leads to the con-

densation onto the elements of moisture in the air. This

condensation is collected and channeled to the ground

through a hose. According to Murilo Gomes, the Sky-

drop produced 50 liters of water per day in a test run.

The ideal would be 200 liters, and even in dry desert

regions with very low humidity, 10 liters per day would

still be realistic.

M u r i l o G o m e s

Air drops – the rotation of the Skydrop produceselectricity that causes the Peltier elements to cool and leadsin turn to the condensation of water.

A healthy person can hardly imagine this

situation, but there are many patients confined to their

beds due to paraplegia or neurodegenerative illness

and able to communicate with the world only through

eye movement. Graffiti artist Tony ‘ Tempt’ Quan from

Los Angeles suffers from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

(ALS) and is one such patient. His friends went all out

to help him and others in a similar situation – they de-

veloped the ‘Eye Writer’. This is a standard glasses frame

fitted with an optical system that follows every move-

ment of the pupil and then uses software to convert this

information into representative data. Using Eye Writer,

Tony Quan is once again able to draw graffiti and writetexts through the movement of his eyes alone.

The instructions and software for building

an Eye Writer have been made freely available in orderto enable those affected to make use of the technology

as inexpensively as possible.

Eye Writer

Writing aid – with simple electronic components, a pair ofglasses can become a writing instrument.


www.eyewriter.org

InteractiveInstitute



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With new power. Wind is energy. Wind is life. Wind is mobility.Audi is using the wind, the clean force of nature,to build an entire chain of sustainable energy sources.

Sun and wind – two amateur gliders fly over the Audi site to the north ofIngolstadt, silently and with zero emissions.

Tailwind


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The power of silenceBalloon flying means – trusting the wind.

Man once conquered the skies in a balloon. The great silencethat prevails there is all the more fascinating today.

he great journey – Audi sends up hot air balloons from time-to-time,or scenic tours or at events.


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Close to the windFor thousands of year, the wind moved ships

and brought people to one another. Today, sailing is no longer hardabor, but a fascinating sport.

Dedication – Audi supports sailing on several levels, such as theailing Team Germany or at the Kieler Woche (Kiel Week).


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Clean electricityWind is a driving force. Electricity from

wind will drive future e-tron models. The Audi e-gas project, too,s based on this CO₂-free primary energy.

nergy change – sustainably generated electricity, primarily from wind power,lready accounts for 20 percent of total energy usage in Germany.


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64 Encounter Environment63 Encounter EnvironmentEncounter Environment

Methanization –hydrogen (H₂) is thermo-chemicallybonded with carbon dioxide (CO₂)to make methane (CH₄). The by-pro-duct is water.

Wind power –future electric cars from Audi likethe A1 e-tron will fill up atthe pump with electricity generatedin a sustainable manner.

Electrolysis –the water (H₂O) in the tank is brokendown into its components partsoxygen (O₂) and hydrogen (H₂).The process runs on eco-electricity.

anced mobility –e Audi e-gas project, a way to₂-neutral mobility

The wind – the great, clean force of nature,also delivers the drive for the Audi e-gas

ct. Through this plan, Audi is taking responsibility for the sus-ble management of natural resources – a cornerstone on theto CO₂-neutral mobility.

The A3 Sportback 1.4 TCNG*, which Audi presented at

012 Geneva Motor Show as a technical model, is a feisty all-d car. Its forced-induction 1.4 liter-gasoline engine producesW(110 hp) and 200 Nm of torque – enough for a sprint fromto 100 km/h in a little more than 11 seconds and a top speedre than 190 km/h.

“But the major advancement lies, of course, in its fuel

mption,” says Reiner Mangold, head of the Audi e-gas project.1.4 TCNG needs an average of 3.6 kilograms of regenerative

er 100 kilometers and emits only 99 grams of CO₂ per kilome-om its exhaust. If you consider the well-to-wheel* balance,

he entire chain including the production of the fuel itself, its out at just 2 7 grams per kilometer.”

With the Audi e-gas project, which is now entering theice phase following three years of intensive research, Audi is

rstautomakerworldwidetobuildachainofsustainableenergy

ces. Audi wants not only to use eco-electricity to produce itse electric e-tron models, but also to offer the clean energy tostomers in order to run the cars.

WindenergyfromtheNorth Seawillalso supplyafacil-Werlte (Emsland) that produces hydrogen via electrolysis. Iterve in future to drive fuel cell vehicles like the Audi Q5 HFC*.

In the first project phase, however, the hydrogen wille used directly due to the lack of infrastructure. Instead, it will

d into a storage tank and then to a methanization plant thatrently under construction. It is coupled to a waste biogas facil-om which it draws the concentrated CO₂ necessary for meth-tion and that would otherwise pollute the atmosphere. Thety will produce around 1,000 tonnes of methane per year,by trapping 2,800 tonnes of CO₂.

At Audi, this methane is known as e-gas; it is chemi-dentical to fossil methane, the main element in natural gas, therefore suitable for driving internal combustion engines.

will see Audi bring its first TCNG models into series produc-Their TFSI engines have been converted to run on e-gas andachieve an excellent well-to-wheel balance.

1,500 A3 TCNGs can each drive 15,000 km per year onthe e-gas generated from wind power and CO₂, with a further 150tonnes left over for the public gas grid. From the first phase o f thee-gas project, the methane from the facility will be sufficient topower a total of 2,500 cars. Over the coming years, Audi wants to

expand its offering of regenerative fuels.According to Audi engineer Reinhard Otten, the poten-

tial of the Audi e-gas project can supply new impetus to the entireGerman energy economy. “Our plans address the still outstandingquestion of how eco-electricity can be stored efficiently and inde-

pendently of location. When there is plenty of wind at sea, electric-ity over-capacity can be converted into e-gas and stored in the pub-

lic gas grid. The energy can then be fed back into the electricity gridat any time as required. The gas grid is the largest available energystorage medium, with a capacity of 217 TWh. The electricity grid,

on the other hand, can store just 0.04 TWh; plus, its transportationcapacity is many times lower.”

e-gas production is thus a practicable solution for the

use of excess green electricity that will inevitably be generatedthrough the further expansion of renewable energies. “The poten-

tial of electricity/gas coupling to store large quantities of wind orsolar energy can deliver substantial impetus to the expansion ofrenewable energies,” says Michael Dick, Audi Board Member for

Technical Development. “We are taking the initiative ourselves andcomplementing e-mobility with an equally climate-friendly con-cept for long distances.”

nesKöblerPhotoStefan Warter

Data

Displacement 1,390 cm³

Power 81kW(110hp)

Torque 200 Nm

0–100km/h ca.11s

Top speed ca.190 km/h

Consumption ca.3.6 kg e-gasper 100km

CO₂ emissions 99 / 27 Gramm pro km**

** attheexhaust / in thewell-to-wheel balance

Audi A3 Sportback 1.4 TCNG

Naturalpower – ultimately,oneminuteof wind isenough for a 300k m drivewith theA1 e-tron.

Wind energy – largeoffshorewind turbinesproduceclean electricity.

Wind energy –Offshorewind turbinesproduceclean electricity.

Goal–Audi’se-tron modelswill runon clean eco-electricity.

Power grid – partof thewind electricityflowsfrom thegrid intorunningthee-gasfacility.

Power grid – thewind power isfed intothepublic grid,whereit isthendistributed.

Hydrogen production – thefirststep is tosplitwater(H₂O) intohydrogen (H₂)and oxygen (O₂) using electrolysis.

Charging station – an intelligentcharging strategystabilizestheelectricity gridduring charging oftheA1 e-tron.

Sustainable mobilityAudi breaks new ground. The company is aiming

to take a leading role in the sustainable management of natural resources,with the main goal of achieving CO₂-neutral mobility.

Hydrogen and e-gas production The e-gas facility consists of two main components.The electrolyzer produces hydrogen, while the methanization plant downstreamproduces the e-gas.

e-gas production –thesecond step isfor thefacilitytoproduce methanefrom hydrogen and CO₂.

e-gas fuelstation –1,500Audi A3TCNGs can each drive15,000km per year on e-gas.

e-gas storage –themethanefrom thefacility is fed into the publicnatural gas network.

Audi A3 TCNG – every gram ofCO₂ emitted by theA3 TCNG was previouslycompletely bound by thee-gas production process.

End productmethane – a combustiblegaswith a highenergy content.

Green drive – theAudiA3 Sportback with e-gasdrivehasminimal overall emissions.

I l l u s t r a t i o n s : s x c e s C o m m u n i c a t i o n

* Seeglossary,p. 146–147


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When Friedrich-Franz Nagel goes diving, it is often fora good cause. The amateur diver combines his sport with

environmental protection: “It is important to me that

nature stays clean – by cleaning lakes, I am making myown small contribution.”

As the deputy chairman of the Ingolstadt

Diving Club, the Audi employee from Pre-Production Lo-

gistics manages the club’s many environmental initia-tives. This primarily involves the cleaning of lakes in the

region. Equipped with neoprene wetsuits and bottles

of compressed air, the “cleaning troops” dive through

the lakes and gather debris. Nagel has found almost

everything imaginable in the water – old bicycles, bat-

teries, car tires and beer barrels … and even a pistol. Not

just the water, but also the banks of the lakes are cleared

of garbage by the diving enthusiasts.The divers also conduct regular lake assess-

ments. Nagel and his team check several parameters

such as water quality, as well as the lake’s fish and water

plant populations.Another agenda item for the diving enthu-

siasts relates to the indigenous swan mussel – it is hav-

ing to compete with the smaller zebra mussel, whichoriginated in the Caspian Sea. The divers remove the

zebra mussels in order to protect the indigenous spe-

cies from starvation. Always part of the action is daugh-

ter and Audi apprentice Rebecca, who is also active with

the club.The Ingolstadt man is particularly proud

that, two years ago, the diving club adopted the Ein-

bogenlohe, a former oxbow lake of the river Danube inthe south of Ingolstadt, and has been taking care of it

ever since. “I hope that our activities also set an exam-ple – and inspire environmental awareness in others,”

says Nagel.

Divers

Friedrich-Franz and Rebecca Nagel – the diving enthusiasts are regularly underwaterin the name of environmental protection.


It is important to me that nature remains clean – by cleaninglakes, I am making my small contribution to that.Friedrich-Franz Nagel


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A stray or injured bird has been sighted in the factory

grounds! This calls for bird protection officer Gerhard

Dörfler. Always at the ready, he is on his way in double

quick time when a bird is in danger and the Ingolstadt

plant’s security office raises the alarm.In-situ, the Technical Service department

employee takes care of the animal emergency, provides

first aid and, in serious cases, even takes the bird home

with him. In his own care facility, Dörfler nurses the bird

back to health, until it is ready to be released back intoits natural environment. “It is always a wonderful thing

to release a healthy animal back into the wild.” Dörfleris self-taught and acquired all his skills and knowledge

on the care of birds 20 years ago through reading.Dörfler, who lives in Böhmfeld near Ingol-

stadt, now also looks after 38 nesting boxes on the fac-

tory site. He regularly examines their condition, cleans

them and takes care of the wellbeing of their feathered

occupants. Those under his protection include swifts,

gray herons, peregrine falcons and kestrels. To Dörfler’s

pleasure, it is not just the number of nesting boxes that

has increased in recent years, but also the bird popula-

tion at Audi overall. “By creating new nesting areas, wecan not only maintain the birds’ habitat, but also ex-

pand it.”

Birds

It is always a wonderful thing,

to release a healthy animal back into the wild.Gerhard Dörfler

Gerhard Dörfler – birds are in theright hands with him.



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Dirty, garbage-strewn land is a thing of horror for Jürgen

Kreß, which is why the Audi worker from Sinsheim buys

up neglected parcels of land at auction and then trans-

forms them into green oases.Several years ago, at one such auction, he

discovered an abandoned piece of land near his home

town that was being misused as a garbage dump. Kreß

bought the land and cleared away all the debris. The man

with the green fingers was able to le t nature run free and

allow a small biotope to form. “My aim is to create as

many completely natural areas as possible, to help ba-

lance out increasing land development.”The tool maintenance technician, who works

at the Neckarsulm plant, now takes care of three green

lungs. On one of his pieces of land, a small natural pondhas even developed into an ecological marsh area. Newts,

frogs, tadpoles, dragonflies, grass snakes and blind-

worms find refuge here. During winter, the fertile ground

of this small piece of wilderness attracts larger animalslike deer or boar that use it for winter grazing.

The ambitious nature conservationist has set

his sights on a new project – an area of meadow on a

hillside near Sinsheim will soon serve as a retreat andfood source for wild animals.

Nature restoration

Jürgen Kreß – the nature conservationist returnsto nature, areas previously considered lost.

My aim is to create as many completely natural areas as possible,

to help balance out increasing land development. Jürgen Kreß



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Factory from the virtual worldFrom material characteristics at a molecular level to process flow

n assembly, from fundamental research to the complete factory – Productionand Works Planning at Audi follows a holistic approach. The specialists used their net-worked knowledge to design the new factory in Győr. The result is an efficient,ergonomic and resource-conscious plant.

Plan AArne Lakeit is responsible for Production and Works Planning at AUDI AG –including the new factory in Győr (Hunga

Documents

Audi Encounter Environment Magazine 05-2012