Classification and clustering of the German plastic industry with a special focus on the implementation of low and high temperature waste heat

Abstract In the context of increasing energy efficiency requirements and the German government’s priorities for energy policy, one key element is a more environmentally responsible and flexible production process. Flexibility becomes important due to the increased integration of renewable energies and the possibilities of sector coupling. In addition, the integration of industrial waste heat and low-temperature heat into the energy supply is of importance. However, measures can only be taken and evaluated after a detailed, specific and case-by-case analysis and study of production companies and processes. A determination of potential always only takes place via simplifying equality assumptions of the companies. The presented paper contributes to this field using the example of the plastics processing industry. For that purpose, the German injection moulding industry is characterised according to typical and specific criteria. In addition, companies which are principally suitable for the implementation of low temperature heat (e.g. from CHP, heat pump, solar thermal, waste heat) are classified according to their potential for sector coupling. The focus is on the characterisation and description of the German plastics industry. A dataset of more than 2.000 companies is sorted, analysed and filtered by different criteria. Finally, a comprehensive cluster analysis is carried out. This results in a list of more than 300 companies seeming suitable for integrating low-temperature heat due to their characteristics. Hence, the scientific findings constitute a basis for prospective analyses within this industry sector and provide a methodological guide for the investigation of other industrial sectors.