ABB and Metsä Fibre sign agreement to supply electrification and drive technology for new Finnish bioproduct mill

ABB and Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, have signed a preliminary, binding agreement according to which ABB Finland will deliver electrification and drive technology solutions for Metsä Fibre’s planned bioproduct mill in Kemi, northern Finland.

The agreement is subject to Metsä Group’s final investment decision, which will be made earliest in autumn 2020. The order is worth approximately EUR 40 million. Production at the new mill could start in 2023. The production capacity is 1.5 million tonnes of pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts.

“We are extremely pleased that our expertise and products will be part of this planned investment, which if realized will be the largest ever investment in the forest industry in Finland. Our deliveries for the project would contribute to ensuring the high availability of the mill as well as reliable and efficient production and efficient use of energy. ABB Finland has more than 30 years of experience in demanding pulp and paper industry electrification and overall delivery projects, both in Finland and globally,” said ABB Finland’s Managing Director Pekka Tiitinen.

“ABB represents the values we require from our partners: a commitment to safety, on time delivery and quality delivery. A high degree of domestic content is also essential. We are moving towards the common goal of building a fossil-free bioproduct mill in Kemi, which is the most efficient wood processing plant in its field. We have all the prerequisites to implement a successful major project together with a competent partner,” said Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre.

According to the preliminary agreement, over 1,000 electric motors for the planned Kemi bioproduct mill will be manufactured in Finland at ABB’s factories in Vaasa and Helsinki. The mill’s protective relays and safety switches would be supplied by ABB’s factories in Vaasa, and over 600 drives would be supplied by the world’s largest drive factory in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki. Furthermore, ABB Power Grids Finland is responsible for the transformer deliveries for the Kemi project. The main transformers for the mill would be manufactured at the ABB Power Grids transformer factory in Vaasa.

The planned mill would make comprehensive use of ABB’s newest and extremely reliable energy-efficient electrification and operations technology. The electric motors for the mill would be controlled by ABB’s latest intelligent motor control system. To save energy, ABB’s new range of drives would control half of the mill’s electric motor power. The mill is planned to use ABB’s latest generation of high-efficiency motors as standard. The mill’s electrical system and drive technology would be integrated into ABB's Ability condition monitoring and remote support system.

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