Atria

Cooperation supporting the carbon-neutral food chain

The long-term collaboration between Nevel and Atria has continued since 2009, and the energy cooperation agreement includes the steam and district heating needed for the food production processes at the Nurmo facility in Finland.

Now the cooperation is expanding and Nevel is investing in two new electric boilers, which will begin operating at the end of 2025. The cooperation supports Atria’s goal of a carbon-neutral food chain.

Flexibility for energy production

Nevel is investing in two 10 MW electric boilers and one 100 MWh heat accumulator, which acts as energy storage, at the Nurmo site. The project has been granted NextGenerationEU investment support from the European Union.

The solution, which will begin operating at the end of 2025, brings flexibility and optimisation to energy production as well as a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 5,800 tons annually.

Utilising multiple energy sources

The cooperation model continues energy efficiency-promoting measures in a flexible manner, in which energy is produced using a hybrid model that utilises several different energy sources. Nevel has extensive know-how in optimising production, for example based on the price of electricity using energy storage capacity.

This enables Nevel to participate in the frequency return reserve market, which stabilises the operation of the electricity grid. Atria benefits through improved profitability of their investment and can focus on their core business.

We chose Nevel because we were looking for competitive security of supply. An accomplished partner brings reliability and, as a major operator, Nevel brings expertise in both operations and supply of fuel. We are very happy with our choice and our partnership.

Why Nevel

Uninterrupted energy supply
Open dialogue
Proactive problem solving
Mix of multiple energy sources
Agile implementation of energy efficiency promoting measures
Target to achieve Atria’s carbon neutrality by 2035

A smooth partnership

– In terms of energy supply, the Nurmo production facility is not unusual; our energy needs are highly predictable. However, we are not an easy client, and the vulnerability of our processes makes us particularly demanding. We require extremely high security of supply and we can’t allow any disruptions.

Open dialogue is one of the things that make the partnership work so well. In Nurmo, Nevel is essentially part of Atria’s organization. A proactive approach to handling and reviewing issues and seeking solutions has played an important role in the partnership. Any incidents have also been handled with sufficient transparency. This has provided a good foundation for developing operations further.