Aging facilities, rising regulatory requirements, and stricter energy and climate policy targets are forcing industrial and power plant sites to make fundamental decisions in the face of international competition. What is needed are integrated strategies that combine efficiency, decarbonization, and economic viability—and that develop existing sites for the future based on reliable data. At its booth at HANNOVER MESSE 2026, the international planning and consulting firm Arcadis will demonstrate how these requirements can be systematically integrated under real-world technical, regulatory, and economic conditions. To this end, interdisciplinary services spanning site development, decommissioning, environmental assessment, real estate valuation, and permitting management are integrated—with the goal of deriving realistic and actionable transformation pathways from complex initial conditions. The focus is on the early phase of site transformation, during which feasibility, regulatory compliance, and economic viability are critically determined.

“Planning certainty for new uses”

“The transformation of industrial and power plant sites does not begin with decommissioning, but with robust, data-driven decisions. Those who understand the soil, the facilities, and the options early on create planning certainty for new uses,” says Gordon Mauer, Sector Leader Technology, Arcadis Germany GmbH.

Industrial and power plant sites as strategic transformation areas

Industrial and power plant sites bring together key challenges of transformation in one place: large areas, high-performance infrastructure, and a history of use often spanning decades. This combination makes them complex, yet strategically relevant—especially for new industrial uses with significant energy and infrastructure requirements, such as data centers, hydrogen-compatible facilities, or industrial innovation and transformation clusters.

Material and Material Flow Analyses as a Key Basis for Decision-Making

Material and material flow analyses form a key basis for decision-making. The systematic examination of current and target states reveals how production, logistics, and infrastructure processes are currently organized and what spatial and functional adjustments will be necessary in the future. Building on this, sustainable site and real estate structures can be developed that unlock efficiency potential and reduce functional conflicts of interest.

Decisions with an impact on value and feasibility

Arcadis emphasizes that it is particularly in this early phase that decisions are made regarding how decarbonization strategies can be meaningfully integrated into an overarching site strategy. Energy supply, emissions reduction, and future uses must be considered together to avoid conflicting objectives and secure investments. Additionally, valuation reports conducted before and after the transformation provide transparency regarding risks, investment requirements, and value development, and demonstrate how technical measures, land uses, and sustainability strategies contribute to stabilizing and further developing site value.

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