CO2 emissions from Apetit’s Säkylä plant are reduced by 80%

26th October 2022
News Food & Beverage

Apetit Group has signed an agreement with energy and water company Adven for a new energy solution at Apetit’s production facility in Säkylä, Finland. Apetit sources energy for their production processes as a service from Adven, who is responsible for the design and implementation of the new energy site.

Upon completion, Adven will also be responsible for the operations and maintenance of the site as well as continuous development of the energy service in Säkylä during the plus ten-year contract period.

The new energy solution, which utilizes biogas and captures waste heat generated in food production, will reduce the carbon footprint of the Säkylä production plant’s energy supply by 80 percent, or more than 4,000 tonnes per year.

Energy demand varies depending on the harvest season

Apetit produces frozen vegetables and food in Säkylä. Production process requires hot water and process steam. One of the challenges of the energy supply is the large fluctuation of energy demand during the year. During the harvest season, energy consumption increases significantly. In addition, the new energy site needs to be integrated with the existing production facility in operation – taking the new energy solution in use must not cause interruptions in production.

– Apetit’s goal is both to improve the energy efficiency of the Säkylä production facility and to increase the use of renewable energy sources and thus reduce the climate impact. The solution offered by Adven combines all of these, says Ari Kulmala, Production Director at Apetit.

 

Waste heat recovery covers almost half of total energy need

In the implementation of the new energy solution, Adven combines different technologies that best fit the customer’s situation. A flexible solution to Apetit’s needs was found as a combination of heat pumps, steam boilers and a heat accumulator.

The solution recovers waste heat from Apetit’s production processes, which means nearly half of the total energy needs of the production. The rest is produced by steam boilers, and the plan is to use locally produced biogas as a fuel. If necessary, LNG can also be used.

– The food industry is a very important segment for us and Adven has a long track record and expertise in the energy solutions in this industry. We are very proud to have Apetit, a leading food solutions company in Finland and the Nordic countries, as our customer, says Leo Toivonen, Sales Manager at Adven.

Business Finland has granted the project with new investment subsidy as an energy efficiency improving initiative.

Construction of the new energy plant will start early in the autumn this year and the commissioning is expected to take place before summer 2023.

 

Additional information:

Leo Toivonen, Adven, puh. 040 708 4194, leo.toivonen@adven.com

Ari Kulmala, Apetit, puh. 010 402 2113 ari.kulmala@apetit.fi

Apetit is a food industry company firmly rooted in Finnish primary production. Our operations are based on a unique value chain: we create well-being with vegetables by offering healthy and tasty food solutions that make daily life easier. We also produce high-quality vegetable oils and rapeseed expellers for feeding stuff, and trade grain on the international markets. Apetit Plc’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. In 2019, Apetit Group’s net sales were EUR 313 million. Read more at apetit.fi.