Vantaa Energy progressing towards carbon negativity in 2030

Vantaa Energy’s goal-oriented work to reduce carbon dioxide emissions continues with the launch of the company’s project entity Carbonnegative 2030. As a result of the plan Vantaa Energy with its operations will sequester more carbon dioxide than it releases into the atmosphere, taking it towards carbon negativity in 2030.

Vantaa Energy’s Carbon negative 2030 project entity to sequester carbon dioxide will enable emission reductions that are greater than the company’s own emissions. Carbon negativity is enabled by phasing out fossil fuels and then progressing to carbon negativity. The current expansion of the waste-to-energy plant and the world’s largest seasonal heat storage facility now in its preliminary planning stage will enable phasing out fossil fuels while establishing a solid basis for long-term emissions reduction work. The new projects in the Carbon negative 2030 entity will give this transition a further boost.

– The future projects will speed us to become carbon negative among the front runners. Our plans include starting up a plant producing non-carbon biogas in 2026, followed by carbon capture into raw material in 2027, investment in a recycled biocarbon plant in 2027 and launching the refining of carbon dioxide into completely new products in 2029. This overall plan is based on an idea that, instead of storing carbon, we will bind it into materials in the long term, for example, for the use of the construction industry, says Vantaa Energy’s Business Director Kalle Patomeri.

Vantaa Energy’s CEO Jukka Toivonen sees that the progress towards carbon negativity in 2030 will benefit customers, the climate and the sector as a whole.

– We are one of the largest energy companies in Finland. The sector has agonised over climate issues for a long time. However, the way I see it is that energy companies can take on an important role as a problem solver. We want to set an example with our own actions and, with our plans, we want to safeguard favourably priced district heat for our customers.  With the investments, we will be able to maintain a stable price of district heat for heat customers also in the future while the heating network will act as a distribution channel of carbon-negative energy. Every one of our new projects is commercially viable, and therefore our customers will not have to foot the bill for carbon negativity.

– Certain sectors, such as the energy sector, play a key role in making it possible for the entire society to achieve the climate targets. We still do not have all of the technical solutions required, and therefore we also need a substantial amount of new innovations. For exactly that reason, VTT as one of the leading research institutes in Europe is involved in producing new solutions for this project entity, ensuring that they will achieve true climate benefits, says Antti Arasto, VTT’s Vice President for Industrial Energy and Hydrogen.  

In terms of emission reductions, the Carbon negative 2030 entity is unique on both the Finnish and pan-European scale.

– There is nothing comparable in the same scale as us in the Finnish energy sector. However, we hope that this will pave the way for other actors, too. I am not aware of any similar ongoing European projects aiming for carbon negativity, either. We must lead the way – the energy sector can become a problem solver in climate issues, Toivonen points out.  

Further information
Kalle Patomeri, Business Director, City Energy, Vantaa Energy Ltd
kalle.patomeri@vantaanenergia.fi
tel. +358 50 529 4158

Interview and image requests
Laura Ristolainen, Marketing and Communications Manager, Vantaa Energy Ltd
tel. +358 45 203 7499