AkzoNobel Installs Energy Efficient Steam Pipeline

A new steam pipeline installed as part of a joint project between AkzoNobel and Dutch waste processing company Twence is expected to deliver annual energy savings for the salt production equivalent to providing gas to a city of 80,000 people.

The €15 million, two kilometer pipeline – which has taken a year to construct – will deliver steam to AkzoNobel’s salt production facility in Hengelo. It will reduce the annual consumption of natural gas by 40 million m3, while resultant carbon dioxide emissions at the location will decrease by 72,000 tons annually.

“This new pipeline is a shining example of AkzoNobel’s sustainability program, which will further reduce the carbon footprint of our already highly efficient low carbon combined heat and power plant,” said Werner Fuhrmann, member of AkzoNobel’s Executive Committee. “This offers the opportunity of growing the business without affecting the environmental footprint.”

Maxime Verhagen, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands and Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation and Theo Rietkerk, delegate for the Province of Overijssel, officially put the pipeline into service yesterday, with around ten percent of the required investment being covered by subsidies from the Dutch government and the Province of Overijssel.