Sustainable resource 2 min read
Switching to renewables at Maastricht Mill with an e-boiler
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The steam boilers that Sappi needs for paper production are increasingly part of the solution to climate change. Instead of relying on fossil fuels like gas, Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands has installed an electronic or ‘e-boiler’ so that wind and solar can become part of the energy mix.
Fuel switching from fossil fuels
Steam is pivotal for paper production, from cooking wood chips in the digester to warming rollers to dry the paper and more. The boilers that produce this steam have traditionally been powered by combustion with fossil fuels such as gas. Now, at Maastricht, renewable electricity is a growing share of the energy mix.
Beginning in 2021, the mill began a €6 million project to install an ‘e-boiler’ that can convert electrical power from solar and wind into the steam needed. Now that it’s fully commissioned, the mill’s yearly emissions of carbon dioxide should reduce by some 13 per cent compared to 2019. This represents a reduction of 22,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Production hours are also expected to increase in the future, reaching a maximum potential of almost 50 per cent of demand.
Far-reaching energy impact
Another benefit of the project is that it is helping to stabilise the high-voltage grid in the Netherlands. Grid operators can struggle to ensure that surplus power from renewables does not go to waste. Now with Sappi, they have a reliable way to offload it.
“Our e-boiler shows that green electricity is not in some distant future,” explains Mill Director Ferdinand Koster. “At Sappi, it’s in the here and now.” It’s also a transition that has proved especially prescient given the high cost of gas and the conflict in Ukraine that has added even greater pressure to energy markets.
A roadmap for decarbonisation at Sappi
Maastricht Mill’s e-boiler is part of Sappi’s global effort to decarbonise our business in a process that we co-create with our partners. By bringing together the brilliance of technology, the power of nature and the creativity of people, we’re making real gains towards our climate targets.
Maastricht’s e-boiler project is one of 80 projects planned in Europe alone on our global decarbonisation journey. Sappi teams in North America and South Africa are also co-creating solutions with ambition and ingenuity in their unique operating environments.
More than 100 Sappi experts in mechanical, electric and civil engineering co-created this project together with external partners. Zero injuries were reported, consistent with Project Zero, our group-wide safety initiative.
By decarbonising our global business and scaling up nature-based solutions, we’re increasingly part of the solution to climate change. Learn more about the solutions we're co-creating.
Maastricht Mill has much to boast about in addition to its new e-boiler. It houses one of the world’s biggest machines to produce coated woodfree paper and paperboard, averaging 260,000 ton per year in production. Its location on the river Meuse allows for some of the fastest, most efficient delivery times throughout Western Europe.
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