A new biomass boiler will make the site carbon neutral by 2026, ahead of the Group’s global target.
Solvay is unveiling plans for the decarbonization of its Aroma Performance plant, located in Saint-Fons, France. The plans include a new biomass boiler, which will go into operation by the end of 2025. Combined with other initiatives, such as sourcing green electricity from a major solar facility, this investment is a major milestone in transitioning the plant away from natural gas towards more sustainable and competitive sources of energy.
The Saint-Fons site will become the first aroma plant in the world to be powered primarily by renewable energy and it will reach carbon neutrality for its production operations as soon as 2026. Taken together, these measures will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the plant by 75 kilotons per year compared to 2018 levels – equivalent to removing 45,000 combustion engine cars from the road.
Solvay has entered into a long term partnership with Dalkia, a subsidiary of the EDF group and one of the major players in energy services, which will commission and operate. The biomass boiler will use locally-sourced wood waste from building demolition and waste furniture, as fuel to produce steam.
“Our sustainable development roadmap, Solvay One Planet, targets carbon neutrality before 2040 for this business, and I am delighted to see that our Saint-Fons plant is ahead of schedule. We will continue to transform our plants to put sustainable and competitive modes of alternative energy in place to actively contribute to the emergence of a low-carbon society," says Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay. "I am thrilled to have a partner like Dalkia on this project to help us reach our objectives.”
“Solvay is a market leader in the aroma products industry and, with these investments, we will ensure that our Saint-Fons facility is operating sustainably and competitively, which will benefit our customers in the long term,” explains An Nuyttens, President of Solvay’s Aroma Performance business. “The Group is proud to be establishing a new benchmark for vanillin producers worldwide, which, when combined with our Natural Vanillin, will allow us to offer a unique value proposition to customers and consumers."
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Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. With more than 22,000 employees in 61 countries, Solvay bonds people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. The Group seeks to create sustainable shared value for all, notably through its Solvay One Planet roadmap crafted around three pillars: protecting the climate, preserving resources and fostering a better life. The Group’s innovative solutions contribute to safer, cleaner, and more sustainable products found in homes, food and consumer goods, planes, cars, batteries, smart devices, health care applications, water and air purification systems. Founded in 1863, Solvay today ranks among the world’s top three companies for the vast majority of its activities and delivered net sales of €13.4 billion in 2022. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels and Paris (SOLB). Learn more at www.solvay.com.
With more than 150 years of activity, the Saint-Fons Specialties plant is one of the cornerstones of the Chemical Valley in Lyon, France. High-performance production units enable it to serve very diversified markets and offer a wide range of products for the food, perfume, pharmaceutical, monomer and polymer industries. The site covers 35 hectares and employs around 300 people.
Dalkia develops renewable and recovered energy sources of territories and provides long-term support to its customers to help enhance their energy efficiency, save energy and reduce carbon emissions. With nearly 20,000 employees in France and abroad, Dalkia maintains and operates facilities at a number of industrial sites, commercial buildings, local authorities, healthcare establishments and homes, using innovative, high-performance solutions. Leader in energy services, subsidiary of the EDF Group, Dalkia is committed to accelerating the decarbonisation of its customers’ sites.
