Chemigate, together with LeaseGreen, is carrying out a major energy efficiency project at the Mietoinen plant, which will have significant impact on their carbon footprint. The project is now nearing its end, with completion expected in January 2021.
“The project is progressing as expected. We estimate it will be completed in January 2021. Safety automation is now underway,” says Mietoinen’s operation manager Toni Koski.
Chemigate launched the energy efficiency project in 2019, which will result in the completion of a process heat recovery system using heat pump technology at the Mietoinen plant later this year. The project is important both in terms of energy efficiency and carbon footprint, goals in line with Chemigate’s corporate responsibility program.
“The new system allows us to use the reaction heat instead of blowing it from the condenser out into thin air. Thanks to heat pump technology, we can produce hot water, which we can use with a distiller both in the production process and to heat buildings.”
Energy savings on the horizon
The energy and carbon footprint savings of the project are extensive. Heat savings, or decreases in oil consumption, are estimated to be close to 60%, and CO2 emissions will be reduced by around 35%. This means that the carbon footprint will decrease by about 300 tonnes of CO2 per year. A cut of this magnitude corresponds to the production of more than 1,200 solar panels or about 2,400 return flights to Stockholm.
“It is therefore a genuinely effective measure, from the point of view of both energy efficiency and greener thinking,” Koski emphasises.
The partner in the Mietoinen project and the supplier of the technology is LeaseGreen, a cleantech service company specialising in the energy efficiency of large buildings. Thomas Luther, CEO of LeaseGreen, welcomes Chemigate’s decision, which both helps nature and serves the energy economy.
“We are very happy to participate in this project, which creates a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions corresponding to the annual carbon footprint of about 30 Finns,” Luther says.