Finnish Breakthrough: The World's Largest CO₂-Based Heating and Cooling System

In the Finnish city of Oulu, one of the world's largest centralized heating and cooling systems using carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a working fluid has been launched. This innovative project, implemented at Nokia's new research and production campus, offers the potential to utilize the waste heat from industrial processes for heating approximately 20,000 households.

A joint development by the local energy company Oulun Energia and the contractor Caverion will supply about 70,000 MWh of thermal energy to the city's heating network every year. This amount covers about 4% of Oulu's annual heat demand. For a city with a harsh climate, where temperatures often drop below freezing, this is a significant step towards improving energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

Ville Tamminen, Head of the Finnish business of Caverion, comments: “This power plant is a technology pioneer for modern, carbon-free cooling and heating plants. We are convinced that CO₂ will play a key role as a technology for the high-capacity power plants of the future.”

Sustainability was a key principle in the design of Nokia's new campus. The facility is powered entirely by renewable energy, and all waste heat is fully recycled. This avoids 99% of potential CO₂ emissions.

The project also contributes to Oulun Energia's goal of achieving carbon-neutral production by 2030. As emphasized by Tommy Kantola, the company's Business Director for Energy Services, the use of waste heat in the central heating system is an important step in this direction.

The growing trend of heat recovery is also gaining momentum in other regions of Finland. For example, the Danish company Fenagy has installed six large natural refrigerant heat pumps (R600a isobutane and R290 propane) in North-Eastern Finland to recover heat from a data center. These units, with a total capacity of 30 MW, will increase the heat temperature from the servers from 30°C to 85°C, meeting the needs of the central heating system.

These examples demonstrate a growing trend in the HVACR industry: the use of natural refrigerants such as CO₂, hydrocarbons, and waste heat recovery technologies is becoming the norm for large, environmentally responsible projects around the world.

Impact on companies involved in industrial refrigeration equipment:

The launch of such a large-scale CO₂-based heating and cooling system in Oulu has far-reaching implications for companies specializing in industrial refrigeration equipment.

• Stimulating innovation and development: The project serves as a powerful impetus for the development of technologies related to CO₂ as a refrigerant. Companies will be forced to invest in research and development to create more efficient, reliable, and cost-effective CO₂-based equipment. This applies to compressors, heat exchangers, and control and safety systems.
• Growth in demand for CO₂-powered equipment: The successful implementation of the Oulu project will provide a compelling argument for CO₂ as an environmentally friendly and efficient alternative to traditional refrigerants. This will lead to an increase in demand for CO₂-powered equipment, particularly in district heating systems, industrial refrigeration units, and commercial cooling applications.
• Increased competition: The CO₂ equipment market will become more competitive as existing players expand their product offerings and new companies seek to fill the gap. This will lead to lower equipment prices and increased availability.
• Rethinking business models: Industrial refrigeration companies will need to adapt their business models to the new reality. This may include expanding their services to include design, installation, maintenance, and repair of CO₂ systems, as well as developing comprehensive solutions that include waste heat recovery.
• Staff training: The implementation of CO₂ technologies requires new knowledge and skills from the staff of companies that deal with industrial refrigeration equipment. It will be necessary to organize training and professional development for specialists in the field of design, installation, operation, and maintenance of CO₂ systems.
• Emphasis on energy efficiency and sustainability: The Oulu project demonstrates that energy efficiency and sustainability are becoming key factors in the selection of refrigeration equipment. Companies that can offer solutions that meet these requirements will have a competitive advantage.

In conclusion, the launch of the CO₂-based heating and cooling system in Oulu is not just a local project, but a landmark event that will have a significant impact on the development of the entire industrial refrigeration equipment industry, stimulating innovation, promoting the transition to more environmentally friendly technologies, and requiring companies to adapt to new market conditions.