Prysmian’s cable competence center in Pikkala is the company flagship also in the energy transition
Prysmian Group’s Cable Competence Centre in Pikkala, Finland develops and manufactures the world’s leading high-voltage submarine and onshore cables used in wind farms all over the world. The investment of more than 240 hundred million euros in increasing production capacity will further strengthen the position of the Pikkala plant among the Group’s three critical competence centers focusing on high-voltage cables around the world.
The growth expectations of renewable energy also demand a lot from the infrastructure that supports it. New, emission-free energy solutions have been at the heart of development for quite some time.
Adven has supplied district heating for Prysmian Group’s factory premises in Pikkala since 1986. Over 35 years of cooperation, we have seen a change, first in the transition from heavy fuel oil to natural gas, and in recent years, the biggest shift towards zero emissions.
In 2021, Adven and Prysmian kicked-off an energy production renewal project, where the aim was to replace the use of natural gas with renewable bioenergy. As a result, the carbon emissions caused by heating dropped from 2,500 tonnes to zero. At the same time, the Pikkala factory became the first factory property among the group’s 100 factories to reach their zero emissions target.
“Prysmian is systematically working towards ambitious climate targets in all countries we operate in and aims for scope 1 and 2 carbon neutrality by 2035. Group’s company in Finland stands out in this respect, as thanks to the measures we have taken, we are already very close to reaching this goal for the entire operations of the factory,” says Jarmo Laine, HSE Manager at the Pikkala plant.
Obsolete cable reels chopped up and reused as a fuel
The new energy solution promotes not only zero emissions goals, but a circular economy, as a significant part of the wood cable reels and pallets are crushed into wood chips at the end of their life cycle and utilized in the production of thermal energy.
“The availability of locally produced wood chips depends, of course, on how much cable reels and other wooden packaging material is available at any given time. If this fuel is not available, we use Finnish sourced wood chips or biogas instead. Renewable bio-oil is used as a backup fuel,” says Adven’s Account Manager Jussi Hirvonen.
In cable production, the right temperature is crucial
In the cable production process, maintaining the correct temperature is important. The temperature in production and storage facilities is monitored with sensors, and there is no room for temperature deviations to meet the exact quality requirements of the end products. Reliable thermal energy production is therefore an absolute prerequisite.
“Cable material is sensitive to temperature fluctuations, and even small changes can be seen as deviations in the production process. Especially in winter, great attention must be paid to ensure that the minimum temperature in the premises remains stable and suitable for the materials,” says Eemeli Kivinen, Production Manager at the Pikkala factory.
The cables will soon be completed in Finland’s highest building
Pikkala’s landmark, the new cable manufacturing tower, rises to a height of 185 meters in the Finnish seascape. Inside the tower, the company will implement a taller vertical vulcanization line using advanced technology, which is expected to be ready for production in early 2025. In addition to the new cable tower, many other new production facilities will be invested in the factory area.
Large-scale factory investments also require increased energy production capacity. The further development of the energy infrastructure is going on, and the expansion of the district heating network and the implementation of new bio-oil tanks are already in their final stages. In the future, Finland’s highest building will also be heated as part of the collaboration for renewed energy service between the companies.
When all new manufacturing capacity in Pikkala is commissioned, the production of high-voltage cables at the factory will more than double. The global market for high-voltage cables is also expected to almost double by 2030. The high-voltage submarine cables manufactured in Pikkala will be widely used, for example, for electricity transmission in large offshore wind farms in Finland and Northern Europe.
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