The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry
Arla Foods Ingredients has completed an €8.3 million investment to electrify part of its production at the Danmark Protein plant in Videbæk, Denmark, cutting natural gas consumption and reducing CO2 emissions.
The new heating system at Production Tower 4 is expected to reduce emissions by approximately 2,500 tonnes of CO2 annually – equivalent to the annual heating demand of around 900 households using natural gas.
The investment forms part of Arla Foods Ingredients’ wider strategy to electrify production and reduce emissions associated with dairy ingredient manufacturing.
At the Videbæk facility, whey is processed into a range of protein and dairy ingredients. Under the new system, Tower 4 can switch between heat supplied by the plant’s existing steam system and a new electric heater, reducing its reliance on gas.
The company estimates that the tower will be able to operate entirely on renewable electricity for 23% of the time.
Mogens Bøgh Pedersen, director of the Danmark Protein plant, said: “This is one of those investments where we simultaneously improve operational reliability, strengthen security of supply and reduce our climate impact. The fact that we can achieve such a large reduction through a single solution highlights the potential of electrifying our production.”
The combination of steam and electric heating also gives Arla Foods Ingredients greater flexibility in how it consumes energy. The company said it will be able to increase electricity use when wind and solar generation drives prices down, while reducing consumption when electricity supply is tighter.
The approach is intended to support the Danish power grid while creating a financial case for further electrification across the company’s production network.
A second project is now being planned for Production Tower 5 at the Videbæk site. The existing gas heating system will similarly be replaced with a combined steam and electric heating solution.
If the Tower 5 project proceeds as planned, the two investments are expected to deliver annual CO2 savings of up to 5,200 tonnes. This is equivalent to the annual heating consumption of approximately 1,900 households.
Paul van Rooij, vice president of Supply Chain at Arla Foods Ingredients, said: “In addition to delivering substantial CO2e savings, this investment also represents a very strong business case. It is therefore a solution that we will naturally seek to scale across our other sites.”
The Videbæk investment highlights the role electrification can play in reducing emissions from energy-intensive food and beverage processing, particularly where production currently relies on natural gas for high-temperature or process heating.
For Arla Foods Ingredients, the project forms part of efforts to reduce the climate impact of its ingredient production while maintaining operational resilience and flexibility in energy consumption.
