A 160,000m2 rooftop PV system at Audi’s factory in Hungary makes the premises carbon neutral.

The project, claimed to be Europe’s largest, comprises over 35,000 solar PV modules which are installed on the roofs of two logistics centres at the factory located in the country’s northwestern city of Gy?r.

The system has a peak output of 12MW and is expected to supply over 9.5GWh of renewable energy annually.

Peter Kössler, member of the board of management for Audi Production, said: “Our goal is clear: By 2025, all Audi sites should be CO2 neutral financially.

“By converting our factories to renewable energies, we are making an important contribution to climate protection.”

The project was undertaken in partnership with E.ON Hungaria, which installed the modules and is now operating the system.

E.ON Board Member Karsten Wildberger, adds: “This project represents in many ways what’s needed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

“I consider the project to be an important step in our endeavour to create the sustainable energy world of tomorrow and hope that it will be followed by further projects of this kind.”

Audi Hungaria is the second of five Audi sites to become carbon neutral after Brussels achieved the status in 2018.

Audi Hungaria’s solar PV system has been operating since the start of the year, since when the site in Gy?r has used only green power. Earlier in 2012 the company opened a geothermal facility to supply most of its heat requirements, with the remainder compensated by biogas certificates.