18th September 2024, Orkanger (Norway)
Six industrial companies have signed a unique agreement to create a circular supercluster for green industries. At Eiktyr Industrial Park in Orkland, the goal is to use all energy twice. The industrial facilities will enable annual emission reductions of up to 500,000 tons and aim to create up to 1,000 new jobs in the region.
The six companies that have signed the agreement are Norsk Industriutvikling, Elinor Batteries, Norsk e-Fuel, Vow Green Metals, Vala Bio and Green Move. The plan is to co-locate the production of batteries, biogas, biocarbon, hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel and soil processing at Eiktyr Industrial Park in Orkland.
The companies will work together to utilize resources and energy, and to recover and reuse residual products and heat. In this way, the circular supercluster will achieve the goal of all energy being used twice. The companies expect the cluster to create up to 1,000 direct jobs and enable emission reductions of up to 500,000 tons of CO2 per year.
"This agreement represents a unique and modern industrial initiative that is unparalleled in the Norwegian and international context. If we are to succeed with a green industrial transition in Norway, we need to work together across industries. What we want to do at Eiktyr Industrial Park offers significant benefits in terms of reduced emissions and energy consumption, and increased utilization of resources, by-products, waste heat and energy," says Dorte Solvang, CEO of Norsk Industriutvikling.
A new standard
The cooperation agreement was signed on September 18 during the Thams Conference in Orkanger. The project was also presented to the Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth.
In 2023, the environmental organization Zero conducted a study that showed that co-location in industry offers significant synergy effects - especially in the form of energy efficiency. In the Eiktyr Industrial Park, the plan is to build a common energy plant that will coordinate the flow of different energy sources between the industries that want to locate in the park.
Halving energy consumption
There are several advantages to having the production of batteries, sustainable synthetic fuels, hydrogen, biocarbon, biogas and processed soil in the same place. For example, CO2 from biogas and biocarbon production will be reused in the production of synthetic fuels. By-products from both biocarbon and biogas can be used in soil treatment. In addition, excess heat from the production of both synthetic fuel and biocarbon will be reused in the production of both batteries and biogas.
"The preliminary calculations we have made show that the battery factory to be built in Eiktyr will halve energy consumption compared to today's gigafactories in Europe," says Solvang.
Reducing local emissions
In addition, the cluster's products will have a positive impact on the climate by replacing fossil products in various industries.
"Vow Green Metals is already producing biocarbon in Norway. We are proud to help important industries that are important to all of us to accelerate the transition from fossil coal to biocarbon. In line with our expansion plans, we are continuously looking for good industrial sites that will facilitate green industrial development in symbiosis with other players. We have been working on Eiktyr Industrial Park for more than a year and are pleased to announce Eiktyr as the latest addition to our portfolio of key projects in Norway," says Cecilie Jonassen, CEO of Vow Green Metals.
"This collaboration strengthens our efforts to establish Norwegian production of sustainable synthetic aviation fuel for aviation, and thus contribute to fossil emission cuts in a sector where this is particularly difficult. In Norway, we have great competitive advantages when it comes to the production of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel. The collaboration between the industrial players in Eiktyr Industrial Park is unique, and allows us to explore the potential of the synergies between the players involved. We look forward to developing this concept further together," says Norsk e-Fuel CCO, Lars Bjørn Larsen.