Green transition

Transition from fossil fuels to green energy

In less than 5 years, we have shifted our energy consumption so that we no longer use fossil fuels in our production or for heating. Our transition rests on three pillars:

• Reduction of the energy consumption
• Electrification of the energy consumption
• Exclusive use of green electricty

In the period from 2016 to 2021, we have invested in a series of green and energy efficient solutions so that we have:

• in operation 5 solar systems with a total annual capacity of 1 050 000 kWh 
• Installed batteries with a capacity of 943 kWh
• Replaced all gas-fired boilers with electric heat pumps
• Replaced an oil-fired boiler for our paint shop with electric heat pumps
• Installed heat exchangers on exhaust air to reuse 75 % of the heat
• Replaced 8 fossil fuel company cars with electric cars
• Installed 22 charging points for charging electric cars
• All forklift trucks are electric
• Reduced our overall energy consumption by installing LED lighting, energy efficient production machinery etc.
• Reduced our annual CO₂ emissions from heating alone by over 300 000 kg CO₂
• Reduced our total annual CO₂ emissions by over 420 000 kg CO₂

2016:

We replaced all light sources with LED lighting which cut our consumption of electricity for that year by 20 %.

We purchased a fibre laser cutter which cost approx. 20 % more than a traditional CO₂ laser cutter but consumes approx. 1/3 of the energy for the cutting process.

We purchased a bending machine with a higher output, but lower energy consumption due to a more intelligent control system.

We installed air curtain heaters above the sectional doors in the production areas. The heaters blow hot air over the door opening when the door is open. This curtain of hot air traps heat in the winter and also reduces draught in the production areas.

We replaced gas-fuelled forklift trucks with electric forklift trucks.

2017:

We started changing the heating in one of our production buildings to electric heating instead of gas.

We installed two solar panel systems which annually generate 200 000 kWh.

2018:

We replaced the ventilation system in one of the offices so gas is no longer used for heating. Better ventilation control reduced power consumption.

We set up 10 charging points for electric cars.

We started selecting steel suppliers based on the CO₂ emissions from the production of the steel and subsequent transport to our facility. Some steel mills emit approx. 3 times more CO₂ when producing the same type of steel. We have decided to buy from the manufacturers with the lowest carbon emissions.

2019:

We replaced 4 fossil fuel cars with electric cars.

We built a new 2 500 m² surface treatment facility. Green solutions were included in this project from the start. The building has extra insulation when comparing to the current regulatory requirements.

The heating for the painting process and the facility itself is generated by air-to-water electric heat pumps instead of gas (normally a requirement in the local zoning plan, but the municipality accepted that we do not use gas). This meant that we could withdraw an oil-fired boiler from use when the old spray paint booth was dismantled. This boiler used approx. 11 000 l of heating oil annually. Two heat exchangers recover
approx. 75 % of the heat from the painting process.

On the roof of the building, we installed our third solar panel system with an annual capacity of 220 000 kWh.

We then installed our fourth solar panel system with an annual capacity of 180 000 kWh.

2020:

We installed our fifth solar panel system with an annual capacity of over 400 000 kWh. For this system, we completed all steel and installation works ourselves to keep the work in-house and use our own employees during the Covid-19 crisis.

We installed 5 batteries with a total capacity of 400 kWh so we can use solar power for operation at night and in the early morning hours when the sun is low in the sky. The system is designed to be expanded with another 7 batteries giving us sufficient capacity to run on batteries for one full day.

We replaced the remaining gas burners used for heating with heat pumps. This saves the burning of approx. 80 000 m³ of gas annually.

We replaced 4 additional fossil fuel cars with electric cars.

We added insulation in our oldest production building.

Together with like-minded companies we formed an alliance, Gaia, to provide mutual inspiration for the green transition. Read more here: GAIA (webpage in Danish).

2021:

We received our first electric lorry.

We installed 7 additional batteries. Total capacity is now 943 kWh

We installed 2 additional heat exchangers for our factory. 

We made an agrement with a steel supplier to have our steel transported with trucks running on HVO diesel. Read more here: aGreenment (webpage in Danish).

We set up an internal climate comittee with employee participation to further reduce our emissions.

Financing

The total investment is approx. DKK 17 000 000.

The annual savings on energy and reduced maintenance costs in 2022 amount to more than DKK 3 580 000.

The operating costs for electric cars are approx. 50 % lower per kilometre travelled when comparing to cars with combustion engines.

Next steps

We will reduce our carbon footprint from the purchase of steel and transport by more 80 % in the period from 2021 to 2028. 

The Danish Concrete Society work hard to reduce CO₂ emissions from the production of concrete. Haarup is committed to assist this process as much as possible. Read more here: Sustainable Concrete Initiative.