AFRY and YIT alliance selected to develop the world’s largest thermal energy storage for Vantaa Energy in Finland

Vantaa Energy, one of Finland’s largest city energy companies, has awarded an alliance formed by AFRY and YIT to develop the world’s largest cavern thermal energy storage in Vantaa, Finland. The innovative thermal energy storage is a key milestone in the path to fossil free energy production in Vantaa by 2026 and in the energy company’s aim to become carbon neutral by 2030.

In the development phase of this state-of-the-art project, the alliance members jointly plan the project and its implementation to match the goals of Vantaa Energy and determine its target cost and incentive scheme. The development phase of the project commences in summer 2021. Once the development phase is completed, Vantaa Energy will decide separately on the implementation of the investment and on the transition to the implementation phase which could start in fall 2022.

The innovative seasonal thermal energy storage will be the world’s largest cavern thermal energy storage with 1,000,000 m3 in size. Its capacity will be approximately 90 gigawatt hours, which corresponds to the annual heat consumption of an average-sized Finnish city. The seasonal energy storage will enable increasing the use of renewable energy sources by storing solar, wind and geothermal energy as well as excess heat from e.g. buildings in summer and using it to cut the demand peaks during high-demand days in the winter. The thermal energy storage is planned to be taken into use in 2026.

AFRY will be responsible for the main design as well as rock and geotechnical design, structural engineering and process engineering of the project. The assignment also includes layout design and technical building services engineering as well as street and road engineering, which will define how to integrate the storage facility to existing street network.

In addition to developing the project in the alliance, AFRY is also responsible for the environmental impact assessment and environmental permitting process of the project as a separate assignment.“The seasonal heat storage is a key part of our innovative investment programme that combines new technological solutions and allows us to phase out fossil fuels in energy production as quickly as possible. We chose the flexible alliance model for the implementation of the demanding design and construction project, and I am convinced that together with our partners YIT and AFRY, we will be able to implement the project efficiently so that the outcome will – at the minimum – meet the strict goals set for it,” says Jukka Toivonen, Managing Director of Vantaa Energy.

”Sustainable solutions are at the core of AFRY, and this project is an excellent demonstration of how we support our clients to build sustainable business and fossil free future. We are happy to be working together with Vantaa Energy and YIT in the journey towards fossil free energy production in Vantaa. The project is also a great continuation of AFRY’s infrastructure alliance experience,” says Mikko Inkala, BU President, Transportation Finland, AFRY.

“Vantaa Energy's seasonal heat storage is an innovative project for a better living environment and it supports YIT’s strategic goal to reduce CO2 emissions with our actions. We are excited that we and AFRY were chosen to implement this project. The alliance model offers the best prerequisites for achieving the goals set by the client, and we are happy that our cooperation can continue even more closely in the joint alliance organisation,” says Anne Piiparinen, Head of YIT’s Infrastructure construction Division. 

More information about the project: https://www.vantaanenergia.fi/en/fossil-free-2026/worlds-largest-cavern-thermal-energy-storage-to-be-built-in-vantaa/

For more information, please contact:

AFRY
Mikko Inkala
BU President, Transportation Finland
Tel. +358 40 716 9133
mikko.inkala@afry.com

YIT
Anne Piiparinen
Head of Division Infrastructure construction
Tel. +358 40 823 2808
anne.piiparinen@yit.fi
 

Vantaa Energy
Jukka Toivonen
Managing Director, Vantaa Energy
Tel. +358 50 453 6729
jukka.toivonen@vantaanenergia.fi

AFRY is a European leader in engineering, design, and advisory services, with a global reach. We accelerate the transition towards a sustainable society. We are 16,000 devoted experts in infrastructure, industry, energy and digitalisation, creating sustainable solutions for generations to come. Making Future. afry.com

YIT is the largest Finnish and a significant North European urban developer and construction company. Our goal is to create more sustainable, functional and attractive cities and living environments. We develop and build apartments, business premises and entire areas. We also specialise in demanding infrastructure construction. We own properties together with our partners, which supports the implementation of our significant development projects. We also provide our customers with services that increase the value of properties. We employ approximately 7,400 professionals in ten countries: Finland, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. Our revenue in 2020 was approximately EUR 3.1 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com

Vantaa Energy is one of Finland’s largest city energy companies. We produce heat and electricity and sell heat services. We enable a smooth everyday life for our customers by producing constantly developing services in a climate-friendly way. The energy sector plays a significant role in the mitigation of climate change. We want to be part of the solution. We are a growing circular economy energy company that invests in finding carbon-neutral energy solutions. Our aim is to be carbon neutral by year 2030. On this journey towards carbon neutrality we carry out concrete measures, such as phasing out fossil fuels by 2026.
www.vantaanenergia.fi

AFRY is a European leader in engineering, design, and advisory services, with a global reach. We accelerate the transition towards a sustainable society.

We are 16,000 devoted experts in infrastructure, industry, energy and digitalisation, creating sustainable solutions for generations to come.

Making Future