Smurfit Kappa announces multimillion fuel conversion in Germany to substantially reduce CO2 emissions
June 2, 2021Smurfit Kappa has
announced a significant investment of €11.5 million in its Zülpich paper mill
in Germany, which will fund a fuel conversion project aimed at significantly
reducing the plant’s CO2 emissions. The plant currently produces approximately
500,000 tonnes of paper annually.
The investment will allow a major redesign of the plant’s multi-fuel boiler,
providing a more sustainable fuel source for the generation of steam and
electricity at the mill. An integrated steam re-use system, which optimises
energy usage, will replace coal as an energy source, and coal will be phased
out. Following the current plans, it is expected that the redesigned boiler
will be operational by the middle of 2022.
Not only will the new investment secure the mill’s energy supply for the
future, it will also have significant impact on the plant’s carbon footprint.
The new investment will reduce CO2 emissions at the Zülpich paper mill by 21%,
and saving 55,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, which is the equivalent to 37,446
cars1. Additionally, the new investment will contribute to an impressive 2%
reduction of CO2 emissions for Smurfit Kappa Group globally.
Commenting on the investment, Pim Wareman, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Recycled Paper
Cluster, said: “This significant investment illustrates the decisive steps that
Smurfit Kappa is taking across the business to proactively reduce our CO2
footprint, whilst continually improving the overall efficiency of our
equipment. With this investment, and by turning side streams from the paper
manufacturing process such as rejects and biogas into steam and electricity, we
are well on track to meet the EU target of -55% CO2 emissions by 2030.”
Adopting this more circular and sustainable approach, the plant in Zülpich aims
to significantly reduce its environmental impact as part of Smurfit Kappa’s
Better Planet 2050 targets.