Vattenfall inaugurates new heat plant Carpe Futurum in Uppsala, Sweden

Vattenfall's new biofuel heat plant Carpe Futurum in Uppsala, Sweden, has now been inaugurated and taken into operation. The new plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 200,000 tonnes per year, compared with when peat and other fossil fuels were used. This will halve the climate footprint for the around 170,000 Uppsala residents who are connected to Vattenfall’s district heating grid in the city.

“Carpe Futurum is a milestone in Vattenfall's work to phase out fossil fuels in its Swedish heat operation by 2025 and to reach net zero emissions within the entire company by 2040. The new facility is a major step to replace peat with new fossil-free heat production that is based entirely on renewable and recycled fuels,” says Ulrika Jardfelt, head of Vattenfall Business Area Heat.

Carpe Futurum is situated in Vattenfall's main heat plant in Uppsala, Boländerna, 70 kilometres north of Stockholm. The new biofuel plant has a heat capacity of 110 MW and is an essential part of a transformation programme, at a cost of around SEK 3.5 billion (EUR 300 million), to phase out fossil fuels from the heat production in Uppsala. The heat is distributed to around 76,000 households and heating customers in Vattenfall’s district heating network in Uppsala.

Erik Pelling, Mayor of Uppsala, said:
“Uppsala welcomes Vattenfall's new heating plant that is completely in line with Uppsala's climate protocol and the city's goal of being fossil-free by 2030. We look forward to continued initiatives that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and contribute to Uppsala becoming climate-positive by 2050.”

The construction of Carpe Futurum began in 2018 and has covered more than 855,000 working hours.

“Carpe Futurum is a new state-of-the-art facility and is an important part of our supply of sustainable district heating in Uppsala. Despite the pandemic, the project has followed our plans and hasn’t had any serious work-related accidents. This is naturally something that we are very proud of,” says Lovisa Fricot Norén, head of Vattenfall’s heat operation in Sweden.

Facts:
         - Carpe Futurum has a heating capacity of 110 MW.
         - The plant can be fired with wood chips, recycled biomass and bark in various combinations.
           It can run the three fuels individually or in different mixtures, which provides high flexibility.

For more information, contact:
Vattenfall's Press Office, tel.: +46 8 739 50 10, press@vattenfall.com

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