The array was commissioned at the beginning of this month, and K&B said that it expected it to produce an annual yield of around 200,000kWh of electricity, which would now be available for direct consumption at the facility.

The installation, on the roof of its Customer Technology Centre, will also cut more than 80,000kg of CO2 emissions per year. 

A further two photovoltaic arrays are set to be installed this year at the large Würzburg campus, which is home to numerous buildings and is the manufacturing site for web offset presses, inkjet, and special presses. 

Koenig & Bauer described the total investment as “massive” and said plans were being developed for further installations at other group locations. 

“Besides contributing to climate protection, this also aims to boost the level of energy autonomy.”

Over the summer K&B worked rapidly to cease the use of process gas that was previously required for production, due to the gas crisis on the continent, and in particular in Germany.

Koenig & Bauer said it aims to achieve long-term independence from fossil fuels, and resilience to future fluctuations on the energy markets.

The press manufacturer has also invested in a hot water system using solar thermal modules for its vocational school at Würzburg, with further installations to follow. 

K&B has set a goal to achieve full carbon neutrality at its production facilities by 2030. 

Separately, K&B completed the acquisition of a 49% stake in corrugated printing specialist Celmacch last month after receiving foreign direct investment approval in Italy.