Sweden-headed energy utility major Vattenfall AB has inaugurated and taken into operation its new Carpe Futurum bioheat plant in Uppsala. The new plant will halve the climate footprint for the around 170 000 Uppsala residents who are connected to Vattenfall’s district heating grid in the city.
In December 2018, Vattenfall announced that it would go ahead and invest a total of SEK 3.5 billion (≈ EUR 340 million) in a new heating plant and heating grid infrastructure in Uppsala to streamline heat production and phase out fossil fuels.
The new heat plant dubbed, Carpe Futurum, has now been inaugurated and taken into operation. The new plant will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by approximately 200 000 tonnes per year, compared with when peat and other fossil fuels were used.
Carpe Futurum is a milestone in Vattenfall’s work to phase out fossil fuels in its Swedish heat operation by 2025 and to reach net-zero emissions within the entire company by 2040. The new facility is a major step to replace peat with new fossil-free heat production that is based entirely on renewable and recycled fuels, said Ulrika Jardfelt, Head of Vattenfall Business Area Heat.
Flexi-biomass plant
Carpe Futurum is situated in Vattenfall’s main heat plant in Uppsala, Boländerna, 70 kilometres north of Stockholm. The new biomass-fired plant has a heat capacity of 110 MW and is an essential part of a transformation program to phase out fossil fuels from the heat production in Uppsala.
The plant can be fired with woodchips, recycled biomass, and bark in various combinations – it can run the three fuels individually or in different blends, which provides the plant with a high degree of flexibility.
The heat is distributed to around 76 000 households and heating customers in Vattenfall’s district heating network in Uppsala.
Uppsala welcomes Vattenfall’s new heating plant that is completely in line with Uppsala’s climate protocol and the city’s goal of being fossil-free by 2030. We look forward to continued initiatives that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and contribute to Uppsala becoming climate-positive by 2050, said Erik Pelling, Mayor of Uppsala.
The construction of Carpe Futurum began in 2018 and has covered more than 855 000 working hours.
Carpe Futurum is a new state-of-the-art facility and is an important part of our supply of sustainable district heating in Uppsala. Despite the pandemic, the project has followed our plans and hasn’t had any serious work-related accidents. This is naturally something that we are very proud of, said Lovisa Fricot Norén, Head of Vattenfall’s heat operations in Sweden.
