2 min 30sec - 4th October
Alpro is a pioneer in plant-based alternatives to dairy products and has built a strong reputation for sustainability. The company strives to be at the forefront of energy efficiency not only with its products, but also in its processes.
Electrification is one of the pillars of the roadmap to CO2 neutrality. Offering Flex ensures that the amount of green electricity available on the grid is optimally used in Alpro's business processes. At the same time, an optimal energy price is also guaranteed.
What is the scope of your flexibility project in terms of assets or processes?
All important utilities, such as steam, hot water and cold, are fully integrated and equipped with buffers.
By means of smart automation techniques and software, the various systems are automatically controlled so that production is always carried out at optimal costs.
Alpro's 'energy park' includes the following assets:
- 3 CHPs (8MW combined), two of which are partly on biogas
- 2 hybrid e-boilers of 2 MW
- a heat pump of 1.3MW at 95°
- 4 absorption chillers, together 2.5MWt,
- 2°C refrigerated rooms with a buffer capacity
E-boiler
Cooling
Heat pump
Cogeneration
How did you go about implementing the project and delivering the expected flexibility?
The 'Flexibility' project is part of the vision and energy roadmap that was started more than 10 years ago. Because Alpro had started investing in all the aforementioned energy systems very early on, this had the advantage that we were able to contribute very quickly to a positive energy transition (and participate in the rapid evolution of renewable energy).
Alpro's in-house engineering department has been the architect of the design of the on-site energy systems and installations. For the financing and partial operation, we have found a partner in Beauvent. The running of all systems is done entirely in-house.
Alpro relies on Next Kraftwerke for ancillary services steering signals and on Engie as BSP and supplier.
The biggest challenge we faced with this project was the justification for the funding. The business model is complex because the revenues depend heavily on developments in the energy market. And these are difficult to predict. Having the option to use the spread between the gas and electricity prices at any time is crucial and makes it possible to constantly respond to changes such as ETS2, tariffs, … .
Looking back, how did the implementation go? Did you reach the expected results?
The biggest challenge we faced with this project was the justification for the funding. The business model is complex because the revenues depend heavily on developments in the energy market. And these are difficult to predict. Having the option to use the spread between the gas and electricity prices at any time is crucial and makes it possible to constantly respond to changes such as ETS2, tariffs, … .
Now that we can look back though, this project has allowed us to make significant new revenues (>100 000 € yearly) from delivering ancillary services.
Another important consideration was the purchasing strategy and the associated risk management. Internal stakeholders must be convinced that further investment in modern flexible energy
systems pays off both environmentally and cost-wise. But in the uncertain and volatile energy markets of the last few years, we believe that this project can give a competitive advantage over companies that have not opted for capital-intensive energy flexible energy management.
A major setback that we have recently experienced is the increase in the capacity tariff. This rate increase means that Alpro is less likely to be able to use the surplus green energy on the electricity grid (Alpro's e-boilers are less often switched on to use the surplus of available surplus green energy). This situation is undesirable for all parties and will certainly cause a delay in achieving the ambitious environmental/CO2 targets in Belgium.
+100 000 €
yearly revenue
This project has allowed us to make significant new revenues (>100 000 € yearly) from delivering ancillary services
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