DuPont Denmark goes CO2-neutral

16 Jun 2016

From next year, the DuPont Nutrition & Health (formerly Danisco) plant in Grindsted, Denmark, will become virtually carbon dioxide neutral when the plant's large coal boiler is retrofitted to burn wood chips.

From next year, the DuPont Nutrition & Health (formerly Danisco) plant in Grindsted, Denmark, will become virtually carbon dioxide neutral when the plant's large coal boiler is retrofitted to burn wood chips.

“To fire with wood chips instead of coal is a huge win for the environment,” said Plant Manager Martin K. Madsen, DuPont in Grindsted. “Not only will we remove 45,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide currently produced using non-renewable energy, but we will also increase the amount of ‘waste’ energy that we sell to the local district heating network."

A reduction of 45,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide is equivalent to removing 20,000 average Danish cars from the road for a year, the company said. The energy consumption at Grindsted, which is claimed to be one of the world's largest emulsifier plants and also produces other ingredients for the global food industry, is said to correspond to the heat consumption in a city with about 10,000 residents.

DuPont says it is committed to sustainability at its plants and has been investing in energy efficiency as well as strong interaction with the local district heating supplier for many years providing excess heat to the local district heating network in Grindsted since November 2011, covering about 8% of consumption. The green transition will bring a further benefit to the 3,600 district heating consumers. DuPont will expand its delivery to cover about half the heat consumption by harvesting the excess heat in the flue gas that is emitted from the wood chip boiler.

The Danish Agency Energy has agreed to financially support DuPont in its sustainability energy measures at Grindsted with up to DK 61 Million.

Troels Ranis, branch director of the energy group in the Confederation of Danish Industries, said the project is a good example of how companies can contribute to the green transition.

“We are experiencing an increasing interest from companies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions," he said. “The project in Grindsted can show other companies that conversion to renewable energy and focusing on sustainability goes hand in hand with commercial interests today.”

DuPont has worked with the project for a few years and expects to start construction in August, so the plant will be operating by the first half of 2017.

Plant Manager Martin K. Madsen points out that the project not only improves energy efficiency, it also makes the plant more competitive.