The first million tons of recycled fuel utilized at the Lahti Energy Kymijärvi II power plant in Finland - Valmet's gasification technology supports circular economy

Lahti Energy's and Valmet Oyj's trade press release on September 7, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. EET

The Lahti Energy Kymijärvi II plant reached a new technology milestone when the first million tons of recycled fuel was used for electricity and heat production at the plant. Through collaboration of Lahti Energy and technology supplier Valmet the new gasification technique has been implemented as a commercial solution, which has an important role in Lahti Energy's production.

During over four years of operation the Lahti Energy Kymijärvi II gasification plant has processed more than one million tons of Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) produced from waste. The amount is big enough to cover 150 football fields with layers 100 meters of thickness.

The SRF used is processed from household, industrial and retail waste. The fuel has an excellent thermal value and included plastics, paper, carton board and wood. Recycled wood accounts for about half of the recycled fuel.

"The gasification plant supplied by Valmet enables to reduce Lahti Energy's CO₂ emissions by a total of 250,000 tons annually. Each year, 140,000 tons of coal can be replaced by renewable fuels. The purchase price of this amount of coal would be approximately 10 million euros," says Hemmo Takala, production director at Lahti Energy.

The Lahti Energy Kymijärvi II power plant is the largest operating recycled fuel gasification plant in the world and counts among the most modern combined heat and electricity production plants in Europe.

Valmet supplied the recycled fuel gasification plant to Lahti Energy Kymijärvi II power plant. Valmet's supply included recycled fuel gasification process, gas boiler and flue gas cleaning system with auxiliary systems and automation system for the whole power plant. Recycled fuel is turned into product gas in the gasifier. The product gas is cooled and cleaned and then combusted in a high-efficiency gas boiler to produce steam for a steam turbine. Harmful components contained in the product gas are removed before the product gas is combusted in a traditional power plant process, which makes the method extremely efficient.

"The Kymijärvi II plant is a very important technological achievement and reference for Valmet and the Finnish technology exports. Thanks to experiences gained during the venture, the performance and reliability of the plant has been improved through technical modifications and by introducing new ways of operation. This has had a significant effect in achieving the high availability of the plant," says Juhani Isaksson, responsible for gasification technology at Valmet.

The first million tons of recycled fuel was used for electricity and heat production at the Lahti Energy's Kymijärvi II plant at the end of August.

Lahti Energy VALMET
Communications Corporate Communications

For further information, please contact:
Lahti Energy, Production Director, Hemmo Takala, hemmo.takala@lahtienergia.fi, tel. +358 50 598 1221

Valmet, Head of Gasifigation, Juhani Isaksson, juhani.isaksson@valmet.com, puh. +358 40 830 4402

Lahti Energy is a diversified energy group, which invests in eco-efficiency and new technologies. Our products include electricity, district heating, natural gas, process energies for industry, and other services in the production and use of energy.

We are forerunners in the field of utilization of energy waste in combined electricity and heat production, among other things. We invest strongly in renewable energy: we are quintupling our wind power capacity in two years, and will replace coal by biofuel in heat production by the year 2020.

In 2015 the net sales of our group was EUR 165.5 million and we employed a total of 209 people.

Valmet is the leading global developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. Valmet's vision is to become the global champion in serving its customers.

Valmet's services cover everything from maintenance outsourcing to mill and plant improvements and spare parts. The strong technology offering includes pulp mills, tissue, board and paper production lines, as well as power plants for bio-energy production. Valmet's advanced automation solutions range from single measurements to mill wide turnkey automation projects.

Valmet's net sales in 2015 were approximately EUR 2.9 billion. Our 12,000 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward - every day. Valmet's head office is in Espoo, Finland and its shares are listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.