Phasing out of coal – upgrade of Boiler 11 at Sappi Gratkorn

As part of Sappi’s global long-term commitment to sustainability and the focus it has on climate action, Sappi Gratkorn’s boiler 11 was completely modernised in 2022. This investment into state-of-the-art technology has seen a shift from a coal boiler to a multi-fuel boiler with the goal to finally use only renewable and clean energy. The modernised boiler is now fuelled by biomass and natural gas.

The rebuild allows Sappi Gratkorn to reduce its CO2 emissions by 30 % and is a big commitment to boosting the decarbonisation of the paper sector. This transition makes the production site more energy independent during these uncertain times in the energy market.  This investment is part of an overall larger scale decarbonisation strategy for Sappi Europe, which in the near term seeks to deliver a 25% specific greenhouse gas reduction by 2025. The chosen technology for the project additionally enabled Sappi Gratkorn to sharply reduce dust and NOx emissions.

Modernising an existing boiler was a major undertaking. At Gratkorn, it was a three-year project. Construction started in August 2021 after pre-feasibility planning and engineering of the re-build. We began by dismantling the old boiler parts and then installing all the new state-of-the-art equipment. Commissioning began in June 2022 before full start-up in September.

At peak times the project involved over 200 people with Sappi teams and partners joining their expertise to realise this complex and ambitious project. Some of those partners were Sumitomo Heavy Industries OY as a technology provider, FMW Industries as fuel handling supplier and Siemens Energy whose process control technology made the system even more resource-efficient.

This project shows that the green energy transition is not in some distant future. It is happening in the here and now at Sappi worldwide.  

What is exceptional about the project?

Christian Roth, Project Manager: “The project was very complex and challenging, but in the end it has inspired all of us at Sappi to move forward ambitiously and not shy away from complex projects that help to make our production sites future-proof and climate-smart.

Exceptional about the project was the reuse of several existing plant components and to put old and new elements together in an economic way.”

Can this project be a successful model for the future?

“Producing pulp and paper is an energy-intensive process that historically at Sappi Gratkorn was partially dependent on coal. With new state-of-the-art technology, boiler 11 has shifted from a coal boiler to a multi-fuel boiler in two phases. The goal is to finally use only sustainable and renewable fuels.”

Is the project part of a bigger scheme towards decarbonisation?

“Yes. This investment is part of Sappi Europe’s decarbonisation roadmap. For the near term, this roadmap includes close to 80 projects to be carried out across our European mills by 2025. The main objective is to reduce emissions of specific greenhouse gases (Scope 1 and 2) by 25 per cent by 2025 and to increase the share of renewable energy in Europe to 50 per cent (compared to 2019).”

Main Features of the project:

CO2 Emissions saved (tCO2): 130kt/y reduction of fossil CO2 emissions

Investment: 35 million Euros

Partnerships (if available): Sumitomo Heavy Industries OY as boiler supplier, FMW Industries as biomass handling supplier, Siemens Energy as electrical and automation supplier

Other projects