Carbon-neutral geoenergy at DB Schenker’s logistics terminals

Partnership stories Large properties

Heating and cooling of logistics company DB Schenker’s terminals in Western Finland, Vaasa and Pori, are produced by Adven’s geoenergy service. The solutions are fully carbon-neutral, which means that the heating and cooling will not increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. DB Schenker has been satisfied with the ease and reliability of the energy service implementations.

DB Schenker Oy and Adven started the cooperation in 2016 when the heating and cooling of DB Schenker’s new logistics terminal in Vaasa, Finland, was agreed to be implemented using geoenergy, i.e. geothermal heating and cooling.

In Adven’s geoenergy-based energy solution, that is also utilized at DB Schenker’s terminals, heat pumps are used to extract solar energy stored in the soil or bedrock for heating and cooling purposes.

Approximately 300 meters deep geowells were drilled under the building during the construction phase. The electricity required by the heat pumps is produced with domestic renewable energy.

The solution is this way completely carbon-neutral.

 

 

“We want to offer our customers environmentally sound logistics services. Our properties produce only a couple of per cents of our carbon footprint, but we can directly influence them. In Vaasa, we wanted to build a carbon-neutral terminal whose energy production is concentrated on geoenergy and hydropower,” says DB Schenker Oy’s Real Estate Director Marko Liimatainen.

Adven is responsible for the operations and profitability of energy centers

The geoenergy project in Vaasa progressed smoothly, so it was easy to continue the cooperation when DB Schenker started to build a new terminal in Pori, Finland. The heating of the terminal in Pori, which was commissioned in 2018, is also implemented with geoenergy using Adven’s Energy as a Service® model.

In both terminals, the geoenergy solution creates savings of approximately 10% in annual energy costs when compared to traditional energy solutions.

 

 

The energy solutions of both terminals are Adven’s own investments. In practice, Adven has built the solutions, including the geowells and energy centers, in the terminals and signed an energy supply agreement with DB Schenker.

Adven is also responsible for the profitability of energy production.

“It is essential to measure the energy consumption of the property correctly. This will ensure cost benefits. Since this is our investment, it is reflected on our balance sheet, not on DB Schenker’s balance sheet,” says Timo Koljonen, VP, Real Estate Solutions at Adven.

Adven’s way to operate convinced us. They are top experts in the industry, and they make sure that the plant is used efficiently. They were also able to clearly demonstrate by calculations how much we can save money compared to traditional energy solutions. In addition, the geoenergy implementation project is effortless and reliable for the customer.

Marko Liimatainen
DB Schenker Oy’s Real Estate Director