We launched a 10 million euros development project to achieve our carbon neutrality goal
13/10/2022
At Mäkelä Alu, we have invested in sustainable production and environmentally friendly solutions for years. Our goal is to achieve entirely carbon neutral production by the end of 2025. Now we have launched a new development project that will promote our efforts to reduce emissions, combat climate change, and increase energy efficiency.
In the project, we seek to significantly reduce the use of liquid gas by electrifying production, investing in our own electricity production and storage, and increasing the recovery of waste heat.
“With these measures, we can reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by about 2,800 tons per year, which is about 40 percent of our current emissions from production,” says Mäkelä Alu’s Development Director Tomi Pilbacka.
The project received significant government funding
We have received energy investment aid (RRF) for our project from the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The energy investment aid covers about 30 percent of the entire project costs: 2.85 million euros. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment granted a total of 100 million euros in investment aid to six clean energy projects. We are very happy that Mäkelä Alu’s project made the cut.
“We are one of the six companies that received aid in the first round. In its own great way, this tells us that we are doing important things, on a significant scale, and that we are leading the way towards a sustainable future at national level,” says Petri Mäkelä, Chairman of the Board.
The planning phase of the project has been coordinated by our Development Director Tomi Pilbacka and EHSQ Manager Päivi Venesoja.
“We are in a good place to start implementing the plan that will lead to a net-zero emissions Mäkelä Alu. It will not be an easy task, but we are determined to succeed,” says Petri Mäkelä.
A large project consisting of several sub-projects
The development project consists of eight sub-projects. The sub-projects are strongly related to each other and are planned to be completed by June 2026.
“In the project, the most significant reduction in emissions will be achieved by replacing our LPG process heating appliances with electric ones. Electrification and the renewable energy sub-projects require major changes to our factory’s internal electrical network,” says Tomi Pilbacka.
Currently, LPG is used for billet heating on our two extrusion lines. These will now be replaced with induction technology, where renewable electricity can be used as energy. One of our lines already uses induction.
We will build a waste heat recovery system for both of our production facilities, the Luoma-aho plant in Alajärvi and the Voikkaa plant in Kouvola. In addition, we will improve the combustion process of our foundry’s melting furnace by renewing the burners and their control system. These measures will significantly reduce our gas consumption and nitrogen oxide emissions. Later on, the new system will allow us to use hydrogen or locally produced biogas as an energy source. One of the sub-projects also involves strengthening our electrical infrastructure and the construction of a new 20 kV switching station.
A lot has already been accomplished
Mäkelä Alu’s work to promote carbon neutrality does not by any means start with this project, it extends much further and a lot has already been accomplished. For example, we have already implemented a waste heat recovery system at our anodizing plant, and we have developed AluPure®, an environmentally friendly billet made entirely from our foundry’s own recycled aluminium.
“Our customers are constantly more interested in energy consumption, the forms of energy used, and emissions. Therefore, we are glad to be able to offer our customers aluminium profiles that are produced in the most sustainable and environmentally friendly way possible. The emissions generated by the profile manufacturer affect the carbon footprint of our customers’ products. By choosing Mäkelä Alu as your profile supplier, you are also making a choice that is better for the environment,” says Päivi Venesoja.
