DENMARK | Arla Foods Ingredients has taken another significant step on its CO2 reduction journey by installing an electric boiler at its largest production site.
The new e-boiler has been the company’s most significant and the first at the Danmark Protein whey processing facility in Videbaek. It will cut annual CO2e emissions by an estimated 3,500 tonnes, which will rise when fully operational.
The heart of Arla Foods Ingredients’ ambitious carbon reduction strategy is a shift from gas to electricity from renewable sources.
Last year, it announced a 32 million euro investment in an electric heat pump facility scheduled to be operational this year.
By the end of 2025, all Arla Foods Ingredients plants in Europe were on target to run on electricity from 100 percent renewable sources.
Installed in a building that previously housed a gas turbine, the new e-boiler will be able to deliver 16 megawatts of capacity and take on the work of two gas boilers. It will produce steam for the high-temperature needs of the facility’s spray-drying towers, which are used to create powdered whey ingredients.
Arla Foods Ingredients’ overall target has been to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent between 2015 and 2030.
However, when anticipated growth is factored in, it will need to achieve more than 80 percent. The reductions resulting from the new boiler will account for around five percent of these efforts.
“The electrification of energy-intensive processes is essential to achieve our ambitious climate targets while also meeting the growing demand for high-quality whey ingredients,” said Thomas Lauritsen, Global Sustainability Manager at Arla Foods Ingredients.
“This is the latest initiative in our drive towards a carbon net zero future and a key element of our commitment to phase out our use of natural gas for energy production. It’s unlikely to be our last electric boiler – we see major potential for this technology at other powder-producing sites.”
Arla Foods Ingredients' measures will significantly contribute to the climate goals set by its parent company, the Arla Foods Group.
It has been working on cutting its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 63 percent between 2015 and 2030 – a target that the Science Based Targets initiative has approved as consistent with the reductions required to keep global warming to 1.5°C.
