The UPM Group has strengthened its production capacity while reducing CO₂ emissions by 5%. UPM invested in a combined heat and power energy source at their Nordland paper mill in Dörpen, Germany. The new facility supports Germany's "Energiewende" energy transformation and thus contributes to the stability of the public energy system.

UNIS, in collaboration with its subsidiary UNIS Power, has successfully delivered a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The steam generator was designed and built to provide electricity independently of the utility grid and replace the old boilers supplying process steam to the paper machines.

The steam generator operates in a horizontal design with a support structure integrated into freestanding boiler modules filled with rows of tubes, called "harps", forming the heating surface of the boiler. It is a single-pressure system with a pipe burner installed between the superheater bundles. The special burner arrangement allows the steam output parameters to be maintained in all operating cases required by paper machines. The paper mill has thus acquired a more modern and much more efficient source of electrical energy, which also reduces the CO₂ content emitted into the air.

The project included the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the entire boiler house with a waste heat recovery boiler (HRSG) with a steam output of 130 t/h, including a natural gas-fired afterburner.
UNIS acted as the main contractor and provided the I&C, Electrical and Control System professions on the project. UNIS Power acted as a subcontractor and concentrated on the supply of the boiler and all other related components.

During August 2022, a 30-day test run of the steam generator was carried out, including verification tests of the guaranteed parameters. On 1st September, the boiler was handed over to the customer for commercial use exactly according to the agreed contractual obligations.

The €95 million investment in a new 80 MW high-efficiency gas-fired power plant made sense. The CO₂ footprint has been reduced by 300,000 tonnes per year. This result supports efforts to phase out coal-fired power generation in Germany, which is in line with the government's target of 65% renewable electricity in total consumption by 2030.

This investment has ensured a stable supply of power and heat, which has significantly increased the production of the four graphic and specialty paper machines at UPM Nordland.

The payback period for the investment is estimated at 3 years. The plant now anticipates annual cost savings of more than EUR 10 million.

• 130 t/h
• 105 bar(a)
• 525 °C
• horizontal
• single pressure with DH circuit and supplementary firing (45 MWth)
• duct burners located between heating surfaces

Gas turbine: SGT800