Gren

Works of construction of a unique road section, where slag generated in the process of conversion of non-hazardous waste to energy was used, were recently completed in Jurbarkas district. This is the first project of such kind in Lithuania aimed at studying the road in detail and determining the impact that slag has on road operation. The conducted study and the evaluation of the achieved results will allow to decide on further use of slag on Lithuanian roads.

9 000 tons of slag which was generated at the UAB Gren Klaipėda waste-to-energy plant and prepared for use was used in the one-kilometre-long test section. The client of the project was SE Lithuanian Road Administration, the contractor – AB Kauno Tiltai, while the Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH) conducted research in the course of road installation and operation.

The exact location of the experimental section is the regional road of national significance No. 1705 Mikutaičiai I–Vertimai, from 1,8 to 2,8 km, in Jurbarkas district. 5 experimental paving structures were installed in this section. The project has been implemented in two stages. The first stage is the installation of an experimental section and the second stage will be the assessment of the possibility of using slag on the road with the help of installed sensors. The second phase will last till April 2024, but performance results are likely to be available after the first or the second winter.

“The first attempt in Lithuania to use slag generated during the incineration of non-hazardous waste in the construction of roads is an excellent example of the implementation of principles of circular economy. If this experiment proves successful, we would reap comprehensive benefits – waste amounts would be reduced, leaving the environment cleaner, and we would have recycled raw materials generated in Lithuania for expanding road infrastructure. This would be a new step in the transport sector, opening up wider perspectives for the use of environmentally sustainable materials in road construction”, the Minister of Transport Marius Skuodis said.

In September, the Ministry of the Environment approved new requirements for the treatment of ash and slag, which allow using slag remaining after waste incineration in road construction, installation of building foundations, covering layers of disposed waste, closing landfills and installation of temporary roads in them.

The Minister of the Environment Simonas Gentvilas hopes that if the experiment proves successful, it will become possible in the future to use all the secondary raw materials generated in the country, including ash and slag, which will replace granite, which usually is imported into the country. “I invite drivers going through Vertimai village to take note of the road section, which professionals have turned into a road using material that was once our waste. The use of ash and slag creates new value instead of disposing of useful materials in landfills,” says the Minister of the Environment.

Remigijus Lipkevičius, Director of SE Lithuanian Road Administration, says that having obtained positive research results and determined that proper use of slag generated in waste incineration plants in Lithuania is possible, volumes of disposed slag and its disposal costs could decrease, also leading to a decreased need for new aggregates (gravel, crushed stone) extracted in quarries.

According to Vitalijus Žuta, General Director of UAB Gren Lietuva, this is another long-awaited stage of waste utilization. “Since the time when the first waste-to-energy plant started operating in Klaipėda, we have been actively and consistently working to ensure that slag is recognized a useful material, and would be put in use rather than simply disposing of it. During that time, we conducted five long-term studies with various departments of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and proved that our slag is a reliable and useful material. And this project brought this idea to life,” said Vitalijus Žuta.

There are currently three waste-to-energy plants operating in Lithuania with a total capacity of 615 000 tons of waste per year. In the process of energy recovery, i.e. incineration, about 20% of this amount comes up in the form of slag. Thus, about 120 000 tons of slag are generated in Lithuania per year. Slag forms in the process of incineration of non-hazardous waste at temperatures as high as 1000°C and is a solid, cellular material.

On November 8, 2021 Ilkka Niiranen starts as Chief Executive Officer of Gren, the leading Northern European green energy company. He was appointed on July 8, 2021.

For the past 10 years Ilkka Niiranen has worked for Adven Group holding various executive positions including Country CEO of Sweden and Norway. Ilkka Niiranen has strong experience in District Heating and Cooling, Power Generation and Industrial Energy Solutions (IES) where he has been responsible for sales and investment projects. He has also worked on M&A, carve-outs and integrations.

Matti Viljo, Chairman of the Board, warmly welcomes Ilkka Niiranen in Gren: “We are approaching the moment of becoming a fully independent company from the beginning of 2022 and I expect Ilkka to play an instrumental role in developing Gren’s strategy that will be based not only on Gren’s current strong business, but will also include new and exciting growth elements that will  promote Gren’s development into an independent customer-centric residential and industrial energy solutions provider.”

Ilkka Niiranen, commenting on the start of his new role, says: “I am excited and honored to take on the responsibility to steer the development of this great company. I am very much looking forward to meeting and working together with the highly professional team of Gren. This will be an interesting journey as we will become a truly stand-alone leading Northern European green energy company.”

Ilkka Niiranen has studied energy markets, strategy and international business in Helsinki University of Technology and he holds degree of Master of Science in Technology.

We are excited to announce that we have entered into new business line oriented on industries, also known as industrial energy solutions (IES). New B2B business line will be lead by our new colleague, Chief Growth Officer, Kevin Vaher.

”I am very glad that we have Kevin joining our team. He is very experienced in energy service models and has now the urge to take this service approach to another, a more flexible and customer oriented level”, says Matti Viljo, Chairman of the Board of Gren.

Kevin Vaher has studied heating and cooling in Tallinn University of Technology and business administration in Estonian Business School. He has experience in both private and public sector, being active in various positions from entrepreneur to manager of engineers union. For the last 10 years Kevin has been focusing on real estate and industry oriented energy solutions.

From July 5^th 2021, Fortum’s heating & cooling business in the Baltics, recently acquired by Partners Group, a leading global private markets firm, acting on behalf of its clients, relaunches as Gren, the Northern European green energy company. Gren focuses on developing and providing sustainable energy solutions, primarily district heating, using renewables and local resources to meet local communities’ needs and provides comfort for their daily lives while also having a positive impact on the environment.

Matti Viljo, Chairman of the Board of Gren, is pleased to introduce Gren. “We are a new brand, and at the same time, our customers, partners and other stakeholders know us very well as our companies have been in the Baltic energy market for several decades. We will continue all our operations and will serve all our customers with the same services and offerings. We are determined to widen the services and to grow even greener together with our customers.” – said Matti Viljo.

The relaunch as Gren is the first step in a strategy that seeks to transform the company from a portfolio of attractive district heating assets into an independent customer-centric residential and industrial energy solutions provider. Partners Group will draw on its extensive experience in building out infrastructure platforms to grow the asset through new greenfield projects and targeted strategic acquisitions. Other transformational initiatives will include extending Gren’s heating networks to develop new heating and cooling solutions for industrial and commercial customers.

In Estonia, Gren provides clean and reliable district heating produced in biomass combined heat power plants from local and renewable resources to approximately 1’900 customers and 72’000 end-users in Tartu and around 890 customers and 19 000 end-users in Pärnu. Customers in Pärnu and Tartu are also provided with environmentally friendly district cooling produced in modern district cooling plants from rivers’ water. Other Gren’s services in Estonia include steam and direct electricity for industrial customers.

In Latvia, Jelgava, Gren provides reliable and sustainable district heating produced in a biomass combined heat and power plant from local renewable resources to approximately 16 000 households and 173 business customers, including schools, public buildings, and businesses, as well as providing services for individual heat substations for housing associations, individual houses, and business customers. In Daugavpils, Gren provides competitive and efficient heat to the city’s district heating operator.

In Lithuania, Gren serves the district heating companies of the cities of Klaipeda and Kaunas with sustainable heat energy produced in waste-to-energy combined heat and power plants as well as from biofuels. In Joniškis and Švenčionys, Gren serves its customers – residents and businesses – with efficient and sustainable district heating produced mainly from local biofuels.

Gren will continue all the operations and services previously provided by Fortum’s heating & cooling businesses in the Baltics. The change does not affect the customers, partners, other stakeholders, or the prices of Gren’s services and products.