A flagship project for sustainable brick production
90 % reduction in CO2 footprint: wienerberger's modernized Uttendorf (Austria) demo plant is driving forward climate-neutral brick production. At the heart of this is a high-efficiency kiln from ONEJOON powered by green electricity – the largest of its kind in the world. The brick producer and the industrial kiln manufacturer are joining forces in a pioneering project.
Electrifying the brick industry
The collaboration between wienerberger and ONEJOON began in November 2020. As part of the “GreenBricks” project, the world's largest brick manufacturer is testing innovative technologies at its site in Uttendorf (Austria). The demo plant has been extensively modernized and a new electric kiln has also been installed. The high-efficiency kiln is the world's largest industrial electric kiln for heavy clay ceramics. It was designed by the German-Korean company ONEJOON.
ONEJOON, a global industrial kiln manufacturer with over 125 years of experience, supports customers such as wienerberger in the successful transition to electrically powered systems. The fact is that most producers of heavy clay ceramics still operate their kilns with gas. “Our expertise in the field of electrically heated kilns with complex atmospheric and flow conditions enables us to offer effective support to both existing and new customers during the electrification phase,” says ONEJOON project manager René Weiß.
In the wienerberger project, the aim was to build a high-efficiency furnace that can be operated with green electricity from the PV system on the roof of the plant. On the ONEJOON side, a team of 15 employees developed the kiln over a period of four years. After numerous tests, the plant was officially opened on November 28, 2024. Hollow bricks in various formats are produced in Uttendorf – with a 90% reduction in CO2 footprint.
Classic product, modern manufacturing process
The history of bricks goes back a long way: archaeologists found the oldest example during excavations in Jericho. It could be dated to the year 7500 BC. Fire, water, air and earth (clay) are the four elements that are still fundamental to brick production today. Numerous innovations since the beginning of industrialization have turned the production process into what we know today: a highly modern and fully automated process.
The history of brick production is also a history of innovation: electrification and the move away from gas are a part of this. René Weiß from ONEJOON sees the big picture: “We can't just focus on technical aspects, we also have to take responsibility for our planet. With this kiln, we have created an important task: the CO2-neutral production of bricks for all of us.”
ONEJOON high-efficiency kiln: maximum energy efficiency on a small production area
The decarbonization of wienerberger's production is made possible by the electrically heated high-efficiency kiln from ONEJOON. With a total length of almost 90 meters, the kiln has a capacity of 300 tons, which is ideal for brick production. The intelligent air flow ensures optimum heat distribution and minimizes energy losses. Thanks to the fully electric heating with smart control, the temperature can be precisely monitored. In addition, the ratio of kiln furniture to products has been reduced, which lowers material costs.
The ONEJOON high-efficiency kiln is particularly energy-efficient and requires very little production space. This not only significantly reduces the required investment, but also the operating costs. The German-Korean company not only supplied the kiln to Uttendorf, but also the conveyor technology. At times, 20 employees were on site working on the ONEJOON scope of delivery.
The vision: climate-neutral brick production
“The high-efficiency kiln is a future-oriented product with great potential,” summarizes Simon Schurr, Vice President at ONEJOON. ONEJOON and wienerberger are joining forces when it comes to climate neutrality. Last year, wienerberger CEO Heimo Scheuch announced that the company was aiming to implement the European Green Deal and become climate-neutral by 2050. A key factor is greater energy efficiency in production and transportation. The Uttendorf demo plant and the industrial furnace technology from ONEJOON are an important step in this direction. According to wienerberger, the company has invested a total of € 30 million in the development of the new electric kiln. The test operation in Uttendorf is currently running with a production capacity of 270 tons per day.
About ONEJOON
The ONEJOON Group is a globally active industrial furnace manufacturer with over 125 years of experience and well over 1,000 systems delivered to date. The company's furnace systems serve a temperature range from 100 to 3000 °C and are used for the thermal treatment of numerous materials. These include the tempering of blade and saw bands, the sintering of metals and ceramics and the production of cathode and anode material for lithium-ion batteries. ONEJOON is the global market leader in the field of carbon fiber production lines. The company is not only a furnace supplier, but also supports customers in the area of process development. Tests on heat treatment processes are carried out on behalf of customers in two Test Centers. The ONEJOON L2P program (“lab to production”) provides a guided upscaling process from the laboratory to factory-sized production. ONEJOON is represented at ten locations in six countries worldwide (Korea, Germany, China, USA, Canada and Poland). A total of almost 500 employees work for the company. Around 280 of them work at the two German locations.
