FINLAND – Plant-based foods maker, Raisio Group has announced that it will be making additional investments in its Nokia mill, one of the largest oat mills in Finland to ensure that the facility becomes carbon neutral with a new bioenergy solution.
Raisio said that it will be installing a new heating plant at the Nokia mill in an investment that will not only make the site carbon neutral but also reduce energy costs.
The company has partnered with energy and water company, Adven to implement a new heating plant at the site, which will use the by-products generated in the mill’s production as fuel.
After the change, the Finish food company said that all its own production facilities will be carbon neutral in terms of energy production. Energy solutions are a key part of Raisio’s responsibility program, which aims for carbon neutrality in production by the end of 2023.
Raisio says that currently, the mill’s energy production emits about 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and with the new plant, emissions will drop to virtually zero.
“Adven has been our partner at Nokia for a long time, so it was natural to continue cooperation with them. Our goal is to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy always when ecologically and economically viable. In this case, the new heating plant will also bring us cost savings,” says Jukka Heinänen, COO, Healthy Ingredients Unit and Operations at Raisio Group.
“It is great to continue the long-term partnership with Raisio and together to be able to implement significant emission reductions, which support both Raisio’s and Adven’s responsibility goals,” Elli Ikonen, Account Manager at Adven, says.
In addition to the environmental and cost saving benefits, the company explained that the advantage of the new heating plant is that the fuel no longer needs to be transported from elsewhere.
The food company says that planning of the power plant is already underway and construction work will begin at the end of this year. The plant will be commissioned in early summer 2021.
The Nokia mill manufactures flakes of the Elovena, Nalle and Nordic brands as well as rye flour for the bakery industry. Raisio has already invested €8 million (US$8.9 million) in expanding the facility as the company continues to build its international oat business activities.
Raisio Group is investing approximately €45 million (about US$50 million) in building a production facility to manufacture plant-based value-added products. The new facility is expected to be completed in 2021 and will complement the food company’s oat mill production capabilities.
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