Çimsa’s Eskişehir Plant Now Generates 40% of Its Own Power from Waste Heat and Solar

Waste Heat and Solar Raise Self-Sufficiency to 40% at Eskişehir

Turkish cement producer Çimsa has started up a 5.5 MW waste heat recovery power plant at its Eskişehir factory, allowing the site to generate about a quarter of its annual electricity needs from heat otherwise lost in the kiln process. The dry‑cooling technology used by the plant requires no water and was delivered under Enerjisa Energy’s “İşimin Enerjisi” brand.

When combined with a 14.2 MWp solar farm that came online in March 2025, the factory will cover roughly 40% of its total electricity consumption from on‑site renewable and waste‑derived sources. Çimsa’s chairman, Umut Zenar, said the goal is to make Eskişehir the cement plant with the highest share of renewable energy in Turkey, adding that every Çimsa facility is building its own sustainability story—citing hydrogen fuel trials in Spain and recycled plastic packaging at the Mannok site in the UK.

Enerjisa Energy CEO Murat Pınar described the project as an example of how industrial energy transformation gains speed through long‑term partnerships, turning manufacturers from pure consumers into producers of their own low‑carbon power.

How the Eskişehir Project Fits Çimsa’s Wider Decarbonisation Run

Eskişehir as Çimsa’s Showcase for Hard‑to‑Abate Sector

Cement production is among the most emission‑intensive industrial activities, and any credible net‑zero path for the sector requires a sharp increase in on‑site renewable generation and waste heat recovery. By targeting a 40% self‑sufficiency ratio, Çimsa is not just cutting scope‑1 emissions; it is insulating a single large plant from swings in Turkish electricity prices that have repeatedly stressed manufacturers’ margins. The SBTi‑aligned carbon reduction goals mentioned by management give such a plant extra relevance for export markets where carbon‑intensity benchmarks are already being requested by buyers.

The choice of dry‑cooling technology matters because Eskişehir, like much of central Anatolia, experiences water stress. Avoiding additional freshwater demand reduces operational risk and aligns with wider environmental permits that are becoming tighter in Turkish industry.

Enerjisa’s Energy‑as‑a‑Service Play

This WHR plant is not a simple equipment sale; it was developed under Enerjisa’s “İşimin Enerjisi” brand, which bundles design, installation and ongoing performance management. Enerjisa is effectively positioning itself as an industrial‑energy integrator, combining solar, efficiency and heat recovery under one roof. For Çimsa, that means a capital commitment but also a single partner responsible for guaranteeing the system’s output, reducing technology risk.

What It Signals for the Turkish Cement Industry

Çimsa’s explicit ambition to become the highest renewable‑energy‑share cement plant in Turkey raises the bar for domestic competitors such as OYAK Çimento, Limak or Aşkale. While WHR is a mature technology, many Turkish plants still run on grid power and imported coal. The Eskişehir example suggests that a combination of solar and waste heat can be executed at scale through a partnership model, potentially accelerating adoption as peers try not to be left behind in the ESG rankings that increasingly influence export contracts and European green‑bond eligibility.

What the Eskişehir Investment Means for Çimsa and Cement Peers

For Çimsa management:

• Track electricity cost savings per tonne of cement produced at Eskişehir in the next two quarters to demonstrate the ROI of the combined solar‑WHR investment.
• Use the Eskişehir data to model the business case for replicating the combination at other domestic plants, especially those with high kiln exhaust temperatures and available land for solar.
• Highlight the dry‑cooling choice in sustainability reports to strengthen the water‑stewardship narrative, which is a growing differentiator with infrastructure financiers.

For competing cement producers in Turkey:

• Audit each kiln line for recoverable waste heat; a 5.5 MW system like Çimsa’s suggests a project scale that can be attractive even for mid‑sized facilities.
• Evaluate partnership models with energy service companies such as Enerjisa that offload design and performance risk, rather than self‑developing in‑house if in‑house engineering capacity is thin.