Vantaa Energy’s journey toward fossil-free energy production is proceeding rapidly

Vantaa Energy is giving up fossil fuels in its energy production in the Vantaa region already in 2026. Constant development work on energy production has paid off, and the company has cut its emissions significantly in just a few years; after 2010, its carbon emissions have decreased by 55 %. The journey toward cleaner energy production continues when Vantaa Energy gives up peat this year and coal next year.

The Fossil-Free 2026 projects in the aggregate, launched in 2020, enable giving up coal in energy production in the Vantaa region by 2026.

– Vantaa Energy has cut its emissions purposefully: the renovated Martinlaakso biopower plant reduced its emissions by 40 percent compared to its 2017 levels, and with the expansion of the waste-to-energy plant we’ll give up coal already by next year. At a local level, these actions enable phase out fossil fuels by 2026 and enable the city of Vantaa to reach its carbon neutrality goals, Vantaa Energy CEO Jukka Toivonen said.

Vantaa Energy also wants to support Finland and the EU’s ambitious climate goals. According to Toivonen, commitment to these goals creates innovation aiming at sustainable solutions and a new business for Vantaa Energy, their development and implementation partners and the companies using the innovations in the future. These innovations thus have to be economically sustainable as well.

– As we progress toward cleaner energy production, the most significant project in the planning is the world’s largest thermal energy storage facility VECTES, which makes it possible to phase out fossil fuels, Toivonen explains.

The VECTES project is progressing rapidly. Nevertheless, ambitious pilot projects of its kind need financial support from the EU. In fact, the thermal energy storage facility was chosen as one of the 70 projects for the second round of the EU Innovation Fund’s call for large-scale projects. The project’s implementation also depends on zoning changes, and cooperation with the authorities and permit applications are proceeding as planned. Vantaa Energy is currently looking for alliance partners for the project. They will be chosen during the summer.

Vantaa Energy’s actions in environmental matters have helped the company to find partners internationally; they have been contacted by parties from all over Europe. Toivonen said that this is due to the concrete nature of the project and its offering clear solutions to the challenges of sustainable energy production.

Further information
Jukka Toivonen
CEO, Vantaa Energy Ltd
+358 50 453 6729