Our Cuijk team devised a new way to reduce their plant’s carbon footprint and improve the local atmosphere. This site in The Netherlands utilizes steam for its product lines—mainly for drying and curing the web via steam-heated cylinders. Although the natural gas used in Cuijk is considered a better solution than other energy sources, it still produces the greenhouse gas CO2. In the past, Cuijk reduced natural gas consumption by reusing waste heat to heat the site, and made sure its boilers were in the best possible condition. An energy toolkit was used to identify leakages and ensure they were swiftly repaired. In the spirit of continuous improvement, the team expanded their efforts and began working with the nearby company BECC (Bio Energy Centrale Cuijk).
BECC produces electricity for the National Grid using regionally sourced biomass, such as residuals from forests and parks. This is considered to be 100 percent renewable power. By working closely with BECC and SCA Hygiene, the site has now signed a contract for the delivery of this new type of system, labelled “Green Steam.” The deal means Cuijk is connected to the BECC power plant, allowing SCA and our site to use the renewable heat for production processes. This will save an impressive 8 million m3 of natural gas per year and increase efficiency by 25%.
Plant Director David Cortes of Cuijk said, “As a global leader providing innovative packaging and protection solutions, we believe we have a responsibility to play a positive role in the communities and environment in which we operate and serve. We are always advancing to protect what’s important, and we are proud to take the next step for our Cuijk factory by switching to CO2-neutral steam produced by BECC for a portion of our total steam usage.”