Energy Transition

Wageningen UR paper and board is co-operating in the 'Energy transition'-project of the Royal VNP. The information below about this project is obtained directly from the leaflet 'Energy transition for the paper production chain - take a great leap forward' from the Royal VNP'. For more information see www.vnp-online.nl

Paper products using half the amount of energy

The Royal VNP, the Netherlands Paper and Board Association, has launched an energy conservation project: Energy Transition for the Paper Production Chain. This is a co-operation with the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs. The project will examine all the available avenues to make a breakthrough in improving energy-efficiency throughout the paper production chain. The transition target is to halve the amount of energy consumption per end product by 2020.

The economy and the environment go hand in hand

Why is energy such an important topic?

• Energy consumption is the yardstick by which the efficiency of a paper mill can be measured

• On average, energy represents about 14% of the cost price of paper

• The price of energy will continue to rise in the coming years

• Less energy consumption also means less environmental pollution

Energy Transition as the way forward

What will energy transition give us? It will:

• Improve the ability of the Dutch paper industry to stand out
• Significantly reduce energy costs
• Create a network of top scientists and consultants
• Strengthen links with central government and the political parties
• Lead to product innovations and new techniques
• Create harmonisation along the paper production chain and with related industries

Transition in Competition
The Energy Transition project started at the beginning of 2005 with a competition between two top teams: based on their own discipline and methods, a team of scientists and a team of consultants will each identify the most promising opportunities for the Dutch paper sector. They are entirely free to choose their own approach and what aspects of the chain they will concentrate on. This project is called ‘Transition in Competition’.
The team of consultants is be led by Petri Vasara, who is a senior consultant at the Jaakko Pöyry Group and closely involved with the Finnish innovation platform. The team of scientists is headed by Professor Margot Weijnen, professor at Delft University of Technology and a member of the Dutch innovation platform. Both teams will report their findings to an eminent jury in late September 2005. The jury will announce the winning team in December.
 

Contact: Gülden Yilmaz