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    Biomass-fueled Brazilian Pulp Mill connecting to Grid with help of Hitachi Energy

    March 22, 2022
    Once completed in the second half of 2024, Suzano says, the mill will be Brazil’s first fossil fuel-free pulp production facility
    Image credit Andritz
    Spectrum41 Suzano Cover 6239fe397005c

    Hitachi Energy will design and deliver a complete grid connection solution for eucalyptus pulp producer Suzano’s new mill in Brazil.

    Once completed in the second half of 2024, the mill will be Brazil’s first fossil fuel-free pulp production facility. The plant will be powered by biomass-fueled heat and power, according to reports.

    About half of the electricity generated will be transferred to the national power grid. It will be sufficient to supply around 2.3 million people for a month.

    “We are honored and delighted to be working with Suzano again on this landmark project that sets a new benchmark in sustainable pulp production and shares its emission-free electricity with society at large,” said Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy’s Grid Integration business. “This is another example of how our solutions are advancing the world's energy system to be more sustainable, flexible and secure.”

    Hitachi will provide a grid connection solution to facilitate a reliable, safe and secure transfer of the surplus renewable energy to the national power grid. The Hitachi Energy digital monitoring system will be deployed to provide real-time data and performance insights and facilitate predictive maintenance.

    The solution will offer excellent performance in terms of availability and efficiency and minimize the total lifecycle cost and CO2 footprint.

    Suzano’s Engineering Director Mauricio Miranda said, “The construction of the new factory is the biggest investment in Suzano’s history, so it is vital that the grid connection through which we generate additional revenue from our surplus energy operates at outstanding levels of reliability and availability. We chose Hitachi Energy as our technology partner based on more than 20 years of successful collaboration and consistent delivery of innovative, reliable solutions and exceptional project execution.”

    Andritz is supplying a significant part of the plant components for the pulp mill. Those include a heat recovery boiler, a steam boiler and other sections.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.