Notice

IETF Phase 2, Summer 2022: competition winners

Updated 15 May 2024

Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Project ID 23037 – Life Health Foods

IETF grant offered: £30,861
Project costs: £46,431
Location: Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Study competition: Energy efficiency and carbon mitigation in grain milling

Project background

Life Health Foods (LHF) is dedicated to providing people with healthy, delicious plant–based food. LHF is one of the leading cereal manufacturers in the UK, producing breakfast cereals and healthy fruit snacks for leading retailers and brands. Dedicated to protecting the environment for future generations, LHF is continually working towards making its sourcing, production, and work practices more sustainable through investing in process optimisation and carbon reduction projects to improve environmental performance.

One such project includes improving the efficiency of its energy-intensive wheat milling process. To identify the true potential of this project, LHF joined with its long-term energy-engineering partner Envirya Ltd to undertake a feasibility study to understand the full potential of this project.

How the projects works

The objective of this project is to investigate the feasibility of reducing the energy associated to the wheat milling and transfer process that accounts for 74% of electricity consumption at the Wellingborough site. The feasibility study will focus on 3 main areas:

• reducing energy associated to wheat transfer - conveyor/ blower control ensuring suitable distribution
• improving milling efficiency with increased motor and gear control – VSD for speed and torque control, high efficiency motors and direct drive to minimising losses
• interlinking wheat transfer and mills controls for overall process optimisation

By integrating these aspects, it is calculated that 477MWh can be saved per year, mitigating 101tCO2 from grid-supplied electricity.

Impact of grant funding

Committed to reaching net zero, LHF, along with Envirya, are constantly striving towards making its processes more sustainable. LHF is continuously investing in process improvements and carbon reduction schemes, however due to increasing cost of wheat and electricity, investment in decarbonisation has become more difficult. With the support from IETF, LHF has been able to continue its drive towards net zero and a sustainable future.

Expected outcome

The feasibility study will investigate how the process can be optimised to improve operational energy efficiency of the milling and wheat transfer process, reducing the associated carbon emissions. The study, undertaken by Envirya, will produce an actionable feasibility report that includes the necessary information, analysis, and recommendations for LHF to make an informed decision regarding the project. It will unlock further investments for the next IETF implementation phase and act as a demonstration for replicability and scalability for other industry sectors with a similar process.

Project ID 23031 - Bumble Hole Foods Limited

IETF grant offered: £33,398
Project costs: £48,794
Location: Bromsgrove, Worcestershire
Study competition: Energy efficiency and decarbonisation of industrial processes through heat pumps

Project background

Bumble Hole Foods is a family-owned business that operates from a state-of-the-art food-processing factory producing a wide range of egg products, supplying many of the leading retailers and brands in the UK. With an ambition of becoming a carbon-neutral company, Bumble Hole Foods are continuously investing in decarbonisation projects.

Dedicated to reaching net zero, the company is currently expanding its solar PV generation with a new 256kW array to add to its existing 413kW, with the aim of electrifying its processes to remove the need for fossil fuels. Working with its long-term energy-engineering partner Envirya Ltd, the proposed solution is to replace the natural gas and gas-oil steam boilers with a heat pump solution capable of achieving the thermal requirements of its process and mitigating the direct carbon emissions from site.

How the projects works

The objective of this project is to investigate the feasibility of installing a heat pump to replace the current steam system and generate heat for the company’s energy intensive processes. A heat pump is capable of achieving hot water outputs between 65°C and 80°C in-line with the temperature requirements of its site processes. By integrating a heat pump solution into its current processes, preliminary calculations show a potential carbon saving of 434 tCO2e per year. Furthermore, by utilising renewable energy generated on-site, carbon offset could be as much as 820 tCO2e per year.

Impact of grant funding

Committed to reaching net zero, Bumble Hole Foods, along with Envirya, are continuously investing in decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects. With increasing costs of fuel, issues in the supply chain due to avian flu and recent investment in renewable energy projects, further self-funding for decarbonisation has become more difficult. With the support from IETF grant funding, the company has been able to continue its drive towards net zero, increase fuel security, and improve the overall sustainability of the company.

Expected outcome

The feasibility study will provide Bumble Hole Foods with an in-depth evaluation of utilising heat pumps as a viable alternative to natural gas and gas-oil steam generation. The study will produce an actionable feasibility report that includes the necessary information, analysis, and recommendations for Bumble Hole Foods to make an informed decision on bringing this project to realisation as well as acting as a demonstration for replicating in other industry sectors.

Sharon Jones, Owner and HR Director, Bumble Hole Foods, said: “We are committed to net zero and at Bumble Hole Foods we are continuously investing in decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects to improve our sustainability performance. With the expansion of our solar PV array and thanks to IETF grant funding, we are looking to electrify our thermal processes, removing the need for fossil fuels in a step towards reaching net zero ambition.”

Project ID 23036 - Mettis Aerospace Limited

IETF grant offered: £89,021
Project costs: £142,935
Location: Redditch, Worcestershire
Study competition: Storing and re-use of wasted heat

Mettis Aerospace in Redditch, Worcestershire, has been designing and supplying precision forged and machined parts to the aerospace industry for over 80 years and is the project lead along with its’ partners the University of Birmingham in a feasibility study to capture, store and redeploy waste heat from its furnaces and utilise that heat for alternative purposes such as preheating other furnaces, components or fluids, preheating and space heating, and so on.

Many energy intensive forging businesses in the metal forming sector rely on old low efficient gas and electric furnaces, which directly affect the overall process energy efficiency and this study will lead to quantifying energy-savings through medium-high temperature waste heat recovery (WHR) and the consequent decarbonisation of the forging industry. WHR will be implemented through thermal energy storage (TES) technologies by storing and reusing the heat in composite phase change materials (CPCMs).

CPCM-TES have already been proven as technological solutions for industrial WHR in other sectors and operational working temperatures (100°C to 900°C), allowing preheating combustion air and feedstocks, space heating and buffering waste heat generation and heat demand. The project demonstrated at commercial scale a CPCM-TES device with 150 tonnes of CPCM (~710°C), a charging/discharging power of 6MW and a storage capacity of 36MWh (TRL 8). The 6MW/36MWh demonstration plant harnessed 10,000KWh from waste wind power reducing 10 tonnes of CO2/year. The large scale low carbon heating solution was awarded with 3 2019 IChemE Awards.

The focus of this study will be on using CPCM-based TES solutions to address low energy efficiency and high CO2 emissions of batch furnaces powered by gas and electricity. The company will investigate technical and economic feasibility, and assess energy and CO2 emissions savings through CPCM WHR.

More specifically, it will

• assess how CPCM-TES technology can be applied to batch furnaces (gas and electric) selected at the Mettis site and the potential efficiency improvement under different operational conditions
• estimate the overall capital operational and maintenance costs
• undergo a revenue/ benefits analysis to determine energy savings, carbon emission reduction and increased productivity

The subsequent benefits will be based on financial metrics such as heat recovered, stored and utilised (£/kWh), return on investment (£), reduced carbon/tonne material processed and process efficiency.

Peter Mills, EHS Director at Mettis, said: “we are extremely happy to be a recipient of the funding from the IETF and to moving this project forward. We continually look for ways to become more sustainable and to play our part in reaching the national net zero targets.”

Project ID 23020 - Telehouse International Europe Limited

IETF grant offered: £55,193
Project costs: £110,388
Location: London
Study competition: Feasibility study for data centre energy efficiency projects at Telehouse

The primary objective of the study is to assess the economic, energy and carbon benefits of the proposed cooling upgrade projects to provide Telehouse with the business case to implement these projects at the London Docklands campus consisting of 3 existing data centres - North, East and West.

The proposed cooling upgrade projects identified, considering energy performance, minimising equipment replacements and major works and minimal impact to a ‘live’ site, are as follows:

1. Free cooling/ heat rejection optimisation
   
2. CRAC control upgrades and supply air temperature adjustments
   
3. Cold aisle containment (CAC)
   
4. Pump/ fan control optimisation and VFDs
5. Metering/ monitoring upgrades

Given the complexity of the system, which has gone through several retrofits over the past 23 years, an in-depth analysis is required with advanced modelling software to realistically assess the impact of energy efficiency improvements. To complete this, Telehouse will use CBRE’s Romonet software, which is a specialist data centre energy modelling software. Furthermore, Telehouse will work with

Northshore, a consultancy specialising in data centre sustainability, to build the energy models and assess the impact of infrastructure upgrades.

To track the efficiency of a data centre, the industry uses a metric called power usage effectiveness (PUE). This value is calculated by dividing the amount of power entering a data centre by the power used to run the computer infrastructure within it (ideal value=1). A potential upgrade can reduce PUE from current 1.8-1.9 to 1.5 - 1.6 and cooling energy usage by 30-50% which would save 12.5 GWh/yr or 1850 tons CO2e emissions savings. Therefore, this study is needed to understand if these performance benefits can be achieved while maximising existing infrastructure performance and without replacing wide scale plant/equipment (and embodied carbon).

Furthermore, with the estimated costs for each upgrade, the resultant energy saving of each project will support the business case needed to decide whether it is feasible to invest in a large cooling system upgrade. This will be instrumental in providing the required information to make an informed application for CAPEX funding for the upgrade projects.

The age and complexity of the cooling systems at these sites requires a thorough evaluation and analysis from knowledgeable consultants and appropriate software before a large capital expenditure can be justified toward upgrading the controls and equipment. It is unlikely that a comprehensive study of this scale would be funded within the current business where the commercial focus on reliability and resiliency takes precedence.

A company spokesperson said: “Given the newness of the energy and sustainability team at Telehouse, the IETF funding will help expedite the implementation of high impact solutions not only at these three sites, but across the portfolio.”

Project ID 23041 - IBC Vehicles Limited

IETF grant offered: £33,970
Project costs: £67,940
Location: Luton, Bedfordshire
Study competition: Feasibility study of deploying heat pump technology

IBC Vehicles Limited is an automotive manufacturing company which produces light commercial vehicles for parent company Stellantis, including brands Vauxhall, Opel, Peugeot, Citroen, and Fiat. The company has very ambitious targets for energy efficiency, energy autonomy and becoming carbon net zero by 2038. This feasibility study will support the manufacturing plant to deploy heat pump technology, working towards achieving carbon net zero targets.

The scope of the study is to investigate a technical and economic solution to modify the existing ventilation heating and cooling system by introducing heat pump technology. This technology aims to reduce gas consumption by over 50%.

The study will include:

• an assessment of the energy available from geothermal, aerothermal and system exhausts
• feasibility of connection and integration into the existing distribution system and the possibility to recover heat from the system exhausts

The company will analyse various options and identify the most efficient solution and further evaluate the final solution.

The study will also include:

• risk analysis to evaluate the strategic, technical, economic, commercial, operational, and organisational risks
• permit and environmental legislation compliance analysis
• activation plan to determine the strategy of the project operation and management and establish requirements to meet the project scope and contractual requirements
• CAPEZ, OPEX and financial review

The outcome of this study will be a complete business case to support the manufacturing plant in making its decision for inward invest.

Mark Noble, UK Manufacturing Lead and Plant Director, said: “Reaching carbon net zero by 2038 and contributing to being more environmentally friendly and sustainable is not a choice but a requirement that all strategic business decisions must have, this feasibility study will support Luton plant to build a plan to achieve carbon net targets. We are grateful to the IETF, which has helped financially support the study.”

Project ID 23012 - Venator Materials UK Limited

IETF grant offered: £69,000
Project costs: £276,770
Location: Hartlepool, County Durham
Study competition: Hydrogen infrastructure FEED study at Venator Greatham

Venator Materials is a leading global chemical company dedicated to the development and manufacture of titanium dioxide pigments and performance additives.

Titanium pigment products have been produced on the Greatham site for the last 50 years. Titanium dioxide manufacture is energy intensive and whilst the site has developed its core technology over the last 50 years, the plant has always generated its considerable steam and heat demands through the combustion of fossil fuels. The proposed study is an enabling task required in advance of switching these fossil fuel consuming processes to low carbon hydrogen, to reduce its Scope 1 emissions by up to 50%.

To be a potential off-taker of low carbon hydrogen produced within the East Coast Industrial Cluster, Venator needs to complete an engineering study to design and cost the required infrastructure to import and distribute hydrogen around the site.
The process scope for the engineering study is for a fiscal monitoring skid at the site boundary, pressure regulation and associated controls, natural gas blending, instrumentation for safe control, and downstream distribution of hydrogen up to the burners on all fired systems.

The IETF funding contribution will help Venator, which will be funding the rest of the project, have costed plans in place and ready to take full advantage of the potential opportunities within the East Coast Cluster. Completing this work early with the support of IETF funding also allows the company to help hydrogen producers demonstrate that they will have potential customers ready in time to receive hydrogen.

The required infrastructure to be designed in this study will be of relevance to many industrial sectors looking to decarbonise with low carbon hydrogen.

Fuel switching is a significant element of the site’s overall decarbonisation plans to align the company to the national ambition of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Rob Portsmouth, Senior Vice President – Sustainability and EHS, said: “At Venator, sustainability is part of our business strategy and it’s integrated into everything we do. Producing inorganic pigments is an energy intensive process. Venator aims to be at the forefront of efforts to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with this process.

“At our Greatham manufacturing facility, the use of hydrogen for process heat has been identified as the preferred technology to reduce the site’s carbon emissions. Receiving an IETF grant will enable Venator to complete the FEED study to design the infrastructure required to consume hydrogen produced within the East Coast Industrial Cluster.”

Project ID 23002 - Lunts Castings Limited

IETF grant offered: £100,180
Project costs: £143,115
Location: Birmingham
Deep decarbonisation deployment competition: : Foundry casting decarbonisation

Lunts Castings is an art foundry operating continuously in Birmingham since 1930. The business has traditionally used only natural gas to melt metal and fire moulds. The purpose of the IETF grant is to move to electric furnaces that can run from carbon neutral power supplied by solar panels the company has installed on its building.

The project works by installing an induction vacuum furnace onsite and switching 80-90% of its production to the new furnace away from gas. This is a proof of concept and if successful could lead to additional induction furnaces being installed to remove gas altogether.

The project will be funded with an IETF grant intervention rate at 70% of the cost of the new capital equipment and training associated with it.

The investment will unlock the ability of Lunts Castings to drastically reduce its carbon emissions and also to reduce energy costs by 30-40% as it can now access the solar energy in all of its production processes. This will also create a stable base for business growth over the next 25 years as it will not be as exposed to the volatility of the energy markets.

Jake Solomon, Managing Director at Lunts Castings, said: “This investment carries on the work undertaken by the directors since acquiring the business, to achieve carbon neutral castings and create a safer working environment for our staff.”

Project ID 23010 - Dartington Crystal (Torrington)

IETF grant offered: £511,153
Project costs: £681,525
Location: Torrington, Devon
Deep decarbonisation deployment competition: Furnace decarbonisation

Situated in the heart of North Devon, Dartington Crystal has been producing premium hand-made crystal for over 50 years. As the last remaining volume hand-made crystal manufacturer in the UK, the company has a proud design and brand history, including 2 Royal Warrants held in respect of its Royal Brierley brand, which itself dates back to 1776.

The company’s rich heritage is just one of the factors that has enabled it to become an established supplier in many UK and export markets, with products ranging from giftware and table top items to high value exclusive bespoke commissions.

Since 1967 when the Devon factory was opened, all glass melting has been carried out in brick built gas furnaces. The operational requirements and construction of the existing gas furnaces dictate that they have to be run continuously all year round. The furnaces therefore require an uninterrupted supply of gas and the flame heat emitted during the melting and refining cycles makes production planning extremely restrictive. Above all however, the energy consumption is vast.

As part of a program of sustainable and environmental initiatives, the phasing out of all gas furnaces and replacement with new electric furnaces will have the most significant environmental impact by far, with an expected 80% annual decrease in energy consumption. A large factor in this energy reduction is the advancement in insulating materials within the furnace walls. Furthermore, the company will be able to significantly scale down its filtration plant as the new electric furnaces are introduced.

In early 2023 a new electric furnace was acquired, and so with proven technology, the company is ready to embark on the replacement of the remaining 7 gas furnaces.

Alan Ramsay, Managing Director at Dartington Crystal, commented: “This marks a new era for the business, not only in glass melting, but in more efficient operational processes. The IETF funding provided will be integral to the timely completion of the project, which itself will be the biggest single investment in Dartington Crystal’s history.”

Project ID 23027 – Celsa UK Limited

IETF grant offered: £13,420,148
Project costs: £28,561,451
Location: Cardiff, Wales
Deep decarbonisation deployment competition: Hydrogen Energy Mill project

Acquired in 2003, Celsa Steel UK is the largest producer of steel reinforcement in the United Kingdom and one of the largest manufactures of other steel long products. From Celsa’s facilities in Cardiff, the company produces and delivers around 1.2 million tonnes of finished product each year mainly to the UK and Irish markets.

Celsa UK facilities consist of a state-of-the-art melt shop built in 2006 and two production facilities: one for reinforcing products and wire rod, the other for merchant bar and light sections. Celsa directly employs over 750 staff and several hundred sub-contractors in South Wales.

The Sections Mill: in 2003, after a successful commissioning period, began producing equal and unequal angles, standard and UPN channels, and flat bars from 60mm to 300mm. In 2006 a new Russula process control system was installed ensuring tighter tolerances, a greater production volume, as well as extending the product range to include smaller sizes.

With the uncertainties surrounding the effects of thermal radiation changes with the transition from Natural Gas to Hydrogen, Project HEM (Hydrogen Energy Mill) will install a new furnace with all the accompanying site-based infrastructure to operate on 100% hydrogen fuel (or any blend up to 100%) ultimately eliminating ~22,000kt/y of Scope 1 CO2 emissions.

Celsa has secured funding from DESNZ’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) to enable the Celsa matched investment to occur. Celsa UK is liaising with potential Hydrogen suppliers that will use the Government incentivised Hydrogen Business Model to build a viable investable business case.

This project provides a significant step in Celsa’s decarbonisation pathway providing significant leadership in South Wales Industrial Cluster for mid/large scale Hydrogen based combustion processes.

Gabriella Nizam, Head of Sustainability & Strategy, Celsa UK, said:
“Project HEM represents a significant leap in our decarbonisation journey. By adopting 100% hydrogen fuel, we’re underscoring our unwavering commitment to sustainability, demonstrating our readiness to embrace innovative solutions for a greener future. We’re excited to lead the South Wales Industrial Cluster towards large-scale hydrogen-based combustion processes, ultimately eliminating ~ 22,000kt/y of our Scope 1 CO2 emissions.”

Project ID 23011 - James Cropper Public Limited Company

IETF grant offered: £4,225,329
Project costs: £8,672,137
Location: Kendal
Deep decarbonisation deployment competition: Electrification of Heat in Papermaking

Project background

James Cropper’s goal is to be operationally net zero by 2030 and to reduce carbon through its entire supply chain to net zero by 2050.  

As a business in an energy intensive industry, the majority of James Cropper’s energy and emissions result from its heat demand. Decarbonising this heat will be the focus of the IETF funded deployment project and will deliver a step-change reduction in primary energy usage. This will require an overhaul of how energy is consumed and managed on site.  

Utilising pioneering technology, James Cropper will electrify its heat demand that will enable a fuel switch from gas to electricity. The electrified process will simultaneously deliver all the heat required for one paper machine whilst making a significant reduction in energy consumption. The paper machine will be able to act independently from the existing natural gas-fed combined heat and power plant (CHP) and boilers as a result of the investment. 

The IETF funding will enable James Cropper to deliver the programme by providing essential capital support to build a low carbon energy centre. This will be the first part in delivering a multi-stage programme to reach the business’ 2030 goals.   

Expected outcome 

The project is expected to result in a reduction of annual gas consumption by over 47,000 MWh and in over 8,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.  

The success of the programme will put James Cropper on track to deliver significant decarbonisation advances and act as a crucial reference case for other large heat consumers to follow. James Cropper will actively seek to inspire change within and beyond the paper industry, helping others on their decarbonisation journeys. 

Steve Adams, Chief Executive Officer of James Cropper PLC, said: “At James Cropper, we have ambitious plans to eliminate our direct emissions. The support from IETF will enable us to make the first step-change on this journey. By electrifying our heat, we can decouple our business from fossil fuels. We hope this investment will be an exemplar for other heat intensive businesses to follow and accelerate their own transitions to net zero.”

Project ID 23021 - Wienerberger Limited

IETF grant offered: £2,275,188
Project costs: £4,799,092
Location: Horsham, Sussex
Deep decarbonisation deployment competition: Waste heat recovery and fuel switch at Warnham

Purpose

The Wienerberger Group is a building solutions provider and is the world’s largest producer of bricks, paving blocks and roof tiles with 14 plants for such products in the UK. The Warnham site produces bricks – manufacturing around 1 million m2 / year.

The production process involves preparation of the clay materials then forming and drying prior to firing to ensure strength and durability.

How the project works

Natural gas is presently the predominantly used fuel in the clay brick industry for kilns and dryers. Heat recovered from the cooling side of the tunnel Kiln at the company’s Warnham Brick Factory is used in the seven drying chambers and is supplemented by Natural Gas Chamber Burners as required.

Presently, the exhausts from these chamber dryers with humidity of 95-5% RH (Relative Humidity) and temperatures from 15-90 Deg C are emitted to atmosphere.

As part of Wienerberger’s commitment to decarbonise its operations - the Warnham Waste Heat Recovery and Fuel Switch project seeks to recover “low grade” humid air exhausted from the dryers, condense it and then use Heat Pumps powered by Green Electricity to raise the temperature such that use of the Natural Gas burners can be avoided. The target is to reduce CO2 emissions by 3,700 TCO2e.

Project funding

The project lacks a “financial payback” so the circa 50% IETF funding that was made available was a clear enabler for the project that will have a clear and measurable decarbonisation benefit.

The corresponding investment by Wienerberger demonstrates a clear commitment to decarbonisation and continuing investment and employment in the Warnham site.

High level time-line

• October 2023 - Offer letter and acceptance
• October 2023- All approvals completed (IETF + Wienerberger Board)
• December 2023 - Purchase orders issued
• Q4 2024 - Commissioning on site
• Ongoing - Monitoring and Verification

Risks that had to be considered included capacity of the local electrical power supply to the site to manage the increased load the fuel switching would demand.

Expected outcomes

As well as reducing CO2 by circa 3,700 TCO2e per year, this project will serve to develop understanding of the potential for water sourced heat pumps to re-value low grade humid air from drying and in so doing allow us to further optimise drying demand for fossil fuels.

Keith Jackson, Head of Thermal Process and Projects, Wienerberger Ltd, said: “The Waste Heat Recovery and Fuel Switch Project (IETF23021) at our Warnham plant will allow us to make a substantial fuel switch from Natural Gas Combustion to Green Electrical Power and Heat Recovery.

“Combined with internal investment, IETF funding is much appreciated and has clearly enabled this project, which lacks financial payback but which represents a significant step towards achieving the ambitious CO2 reduction targets Wienerberger has set itself across its building solutions business.”

Project ID 23045A - Sofidel UK Limited

IETF grant offered: £427,028
Project costs: £854,056
Location: Leicester
Deep decarbonisation deployment competition: Sofidel UK hydrogen ready boiler

The project is located at Sofidel’s Leicester paper mill, which is classed as an energy intensive industry within the manufacturing sectors. Natural gas is predominantly used in the paper mill as the fuel for the burners on both the steam boiler and the paper machine hoods. The heat produced is used in the process for drying the paper and this accounts for almost 100% of the gas used on site. The aim of this deep decarbonisation fuel switching project is to replace the current natural gas steam boiler (required for the production process) with that of a new hydrogen-ready boiler that can burn natural gas, blended natural gas with hydrogen, and pure hydrogen – significantly reducing carbon levels.

The hydrogen steam generator technology is a boiler with a special burner, specifically designed to accept hydrogen, natural gas or a mixture of the two in any proportion, with a combustion chamber usually larger than the one for natural gas.

The IETF funding will allow Sofidel to accelerate its decarbonisation plans and achieve a significant reduction in its carbon emissions within an industry that is well known for being dependent on carbon intensive processes. The innovation is potentially replicable in any industrial manufacturing site where steam is generated for process purposes. This project meets the expectations of many stakeholders including customers, consumers, public bodies and investors.

As this project is a fuel switch project from natural gas to Hydrogen, the CO2e saving is estimated to be 14,000 tCO2e per annum for the production of steam across the Leicester site. This reduction will be achieved once the new boiler is consuming 100% hydrogen gas. In addition, the hydrogen being sourced will be green hydrogen.

Giuseppe Munari, Country Operations Manager at Sofidel UK Limited, said: “Most projects hope to decarbonise through the purchasing of green electricity, however, Sofidel UK believes it is critical to go beyond that. Our proposed project enables us to reduce emissions from direct combustion and would hopefully be a cornerstone of the long-term decarbonisation strategy of the Sofidel Group.”

Project ID 23046A – Plastipak UK Limited

IETF grant offered: £66,307
Project costs: £221,022
Location: Wrexham, Wales
Energy efficiency deployment competition: Implementation of automation and control Plastipak UK Ltd - dryer optimisation

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is hygroscopic in nature therefore it is essential to remove moisture before processing otherwise the formation of bubbles in the melt stream will severely degrade the mechanical properties of the material.

Drying of PET resin is an energy intensive process whereby ambient process air is blown through the heaters to lift the air temperature to approximately 180°C. The air is then forced through the PET material in the hopper warming the resin. Increasing the temperature of the resin forces the moisture content in the resin to vaporise and force its way out of the pellet. The vaporised moisture is then drawn away from the hopper along with the returning air to the dryer.

The moist return air is then cooled, dried and then recirculated through the process again, being again heated and blown through the hopper.

The proposal is to upgrade 13 drying systems with new hardware and software to optimise the drying of the resin to the actual requirements.

There will be variable speed drives (VSDs), proportional water control valves, load cells, installed to monitor temperatures and modulate the system based on the variable conditions. In summary, the improved controls will improve the conservation of energy within the system, modulating airflow and cooling to match the demands of the application.

Funding

The project funding will be provided via a central Plastipak European capital expenditure funding. There are 15 Plastipak sites located across Europe and Asia that compete for this funding. This funding is always sought after and based upon numerous factors such as strategic commercial, return on investment, cash flow etc.

The IETF funding will help to drive the energy efficiency projects forward, enabling the company’s UK manufacturing site to capitalise on reduced energy costs, which are currently the highest element of UK production costs.

Project ID 23046C – Plastipak UK Limited

IETF grant offered: £7,535
Project costs: £25,116
Location: Wrexham, Wales
Energy efficiency deployment competition: Implementation of automation and control Plastipak UK Ltd - VSD installation in two cooling water pumps

Stretch blow moulding is an energy intensive process whereby ambient temperature preforms are heated to allow them to be re-processed and blown using high-pressure compressed air into the desired shape of the container. The high pressure air is produced at 35 bar via a number of compressors located on site. This compressed air is then delivered via pipework to the blow moulding machine.

There are two cooling water pumps dedicated for cooling the High Pressure air compressors. The pumps run constantly as there is no automation to cut the flow when these pumps are not running, thus wasting energy with a continuous flow. There are five Bellis & Morcom High Pressure air compressors (3xWH40 and 2xWH28). It is expected saving half the energy by installing solenoid valves on each compressor and VSD on the pumps together with its controller.

The proposal is to upgrade the two cooling water pumps with new hardware and software to match the supply of the water to the actual requirements.

There will be a variable speed drive (VSD) installed to control the speed of the motor based on the actual cooling required at the compressor. This will be controlled based on pressure feedback and water flow isolation will be installed on each compressor to isolate flow when safe to do so. Due to variable utilisation of the compressors, the company expect to be able to reduce the pump demands significantly.

Funding

The project funding will be provided via a central Plastipak European capital expenditure funding. There are 15 Plastipak sites located across Europe and Asia that compete for this funding. This funding is always sought after and based upon numerous factors such as strategic commercial, return on investment, cash flow etc.

The IETF funding will help to drive the energy efficiency projects forward, enabling the company’s UK manufacturing site to capitalise on reduced energy costs, which are currently the highest element of UK production costs.

Project ID 23046D – Plastipak UK Limited

IETF grant offered: £23,128
Project costs: £77,094
Location: Wrexham, Wales
Energy efficiency deployment competition: Implementation of automation and control Plastipak UK Ltd - high pressure air compressor VSD optimisation panel

Stretch blow moulding is an energy intensive process whereby ambient temperature preforms are heated to allow them to be re-processed and blown using high-pressure compressed air into the desired shape of the container. The high pressure air is produced at 35 bar via a number of compressors located on site. This compressed air is then delivered via pipework to the blow moulding machine.

The high pressure compressors currently operate in 3 modes (Full, Half & No Load). This control methodology necessitates a wide control band to avoid repetitive loading to supply the appropriate pressure compressed air to the Blow moulding machines. This means the compressors operate using a higher energy usage and the compressors are not finely controlled to the demand of the blow moulding machines.

The proposal is to upgrade the compressor system with new hardware and software to match the supply of the high pressure compressed air to the actual requirements.

There will be a variable speed drive (VSD) installed to control the speed of the motor on one of the compressors based on the actual air required at the blowing machines. This will be controlled based on pressure feedback. This modification will enable a more accurate control of delivery pressure, along with significantly fewer no load hours, enabling utilisation of the otherwise wasted energy demand.

Funding

The project funding will be provided via a central Plastipak European capital expenditure funding. There are 15 Plastipak sites located across Europe and Asia that compete for this funding. This funding is always sought after and based upon numerous factors such as strategic commercial, return on investment, cash flow etc.

The IETF funding will help to drive the energy efficiency projects forward, enabling the company’s UK manufacturing site to capitalise on reduced energy costs, which are currently the highest element of UK production costs.

Project ID 23046E – Plastipak UK Limited

IETF grant offered: £21,750
Project costs: £72,500
Location: Wrexham, Wales
Energy efficiency deployment competition: Implementation of automation and control Plastipak UK Ltd - IMM optimisation at five machines (ASP Husky Control)

The injection moulding process converts the dried PET material into preforms. Hot (150°C - 180°C) dried material is gravity fed from the hopper on the floor above the machine to the throat of the plasticising screw. Heat is applied to the external surface of the plasticising barrel by heater bands. The hot material in the screw is plasticised using hydraulic power. Hydraulic motors rotate the screw to plasticise the resin. This resin is injected into the mould producing the preform.

There are 5 x Husky HyPET 4.0 machines. Husky offer a new control feature to optimise energy savings as required during process. The proposal is to install this feature on the Husky HyPET 4.0 machines. With this feature, the machine will determine the lowest required hydraulic pressure learned over multiple cycles. Once the pressure profile is optimised, it will remain the same throughout the production phase. There will be minimal cycle time variation (~10ms) and no impact to the preform quality during optimisation process.

This would be a software modification designed and implemented by Husky to the machine control system.

Funding

The project funding will be provided via a central Plastipak European capital expenditure funding. There are 15 Plastipak sites located across Europe and Asia that compete for this funding. This funding is always sought after and based upon numerous factors such as strategic commercial, return on investment, cash flow etc.

The IETF funding will help to drive the energy efficiency projects forward, enabling the company’s UK manufacturing site to capitalise on reduced energy costs, which are currently the highest element of UK production costs.