Fazer: electrifies steam production at confectionery factory

Helsinki / FI. (fg) Finland’s Fazer Group has ambitious emission reduction targets in line with its commitment to the international SBT (Science Based Targets) initiative. As part of its emission reduction targets, Fazer will electrify steam production at Lappeenranta confectionery factory. With electrification, the factory’s carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by approximately 90 per cent annually, and the emissions of Fazer Group by over 10 per cent. The reduction is due to the change of the energy source for steam production to one with less emissions. Furthermore, significant energy savings are created as heat is recovered and re-directed into the factory’s processes.

(Photo: Fazer Group)

Lappeenranta confectionery factory employs approximately 400 professionals to produce Fazer’s sugar confectionery products, various salty liquorice and liquorice products as well as marmalades and xylitol products. Steam is used in the manufacture of many products. Steam is used, for example, for cooking confectionery masses and for drying and post-processing sweets, such as for sugar-coating. Currently, steam is produced using natural gas, but in the future, electricity will be used as an energy source.

The new electric boiler will be built in the existing boiler hall, and the changes being made will hardly be visible outside the factory property. The current gas boilers will be preserved as reserve boilers at the factory. The project will also improve the factory’s energy efficiency by recovering heat from the plant’s cooling system. The recovered heat will be utilized in production processes and in heating the building.

Fazer has signed the major equipment and installation contracts and agreed on a schedule for the electrification work to begin in the first half of 2025. The commissioning of the new electric boiler is scheduled for 2026. The most visible works related to the project are the construction of the 110 kV electricity connection and the related distribution substation field in the backyard of the confectionery factory.

«Production will continue with existing gas boilers throughout the period that new electrification solutions are installed. With the electrification of steam production, the carbon dioxide emissions of the Lappeenranta confectionery factory will be reduced by up to 90 per cent on an annual level, and for the entire Group the reduction will be more than 10 per cent on an annual level,» says Petri Pitkänen, Production Director at Fazer’s Lappeenranta confectionery factory.

«The preparations for the electrification of the steam production at the confectionery factory have required a lot of intense cooperation between Fazer and the actors of the city group. The entity is however very important to the city, as it secures the development of the industrial area and the operating prerequisites for the confectionery factory in the long term,» says Tuomo Sallinen, Mayor of Lappeenranta.

42 percent less emissions by 2030

Taking care of the well-being of people and the environment is an integral part of Fazer’s operations. Fazer acknowledges the substantial impact that the way food is grown, produced and consumed has on people’s wellbeing, on the environment, and on society. Fazer is committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with climate targets that are in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement and aim to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. In order to reach its target of 42 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, Fazer is focusing especially on increasing the use of fossil-free fuels and on improving energy efficiency.

In addition to electrifying steam production in Lappeenranta, Fazer has in recent years reduced its emissions by, for example, switching its Finnish operations to green district heating, starting an electrification project for bakery ovens and investing in an electric boiler at the Eskilstuna bakery in Sweden.

The electrification project at the Lappeenranta confectionery factory has been granted NextGenerationEU financing by the European Union. The aim of the financing is to support the green transition and sustainable growth in Finland. According to the financing conditions, Fazer has committed to using fossil free energy from renewable sources in the steam production.