Background

Founded in 1966, Swiss Krono is a leading global wood manufacturing group specialised in floor, construction materials, and interior design products.
Swiss Krono launched a competitive process to design, build, finance and operate for 23 years (21 years of operation), a new 64MW biomass boiler on its French production site (located in Sully-sur-Loire – 140 km south of Paris) to provide Swiss Krono with thermal fluids / heat for its industrial activities.

The Project is part of a larger investment plan undertaken by Swiss Krono to upgrade one of the plant’s manufacturing lines, expand the total capacity of the factory, and reduce their carbon footprint by replacing the current gas-powered units.
This project offers a great opportunity to enter the industry decarbonisation segment with a flagship European partner, by using biomass energy instead of gas. Meridiam achieved financial close of the project in June 2022.

Stage:

Financial Close

ESG/SDG Key Facts

The Project Company is carrying out an initiative to promote biodiversity (UN SDG 15) on the Swiss Krono site, in partnership with the Biodiversio association, and with the support of the Meridiam’s endowment fund. This will notably involve the creation of an access to a humid, biodiversity-rich area. Additional trees will be planted, information panels and observation booths will be added to improve the site’s engagement with the community and employees, and the association will monitor the evolution of biodiversity on the site.

SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)

The Swiss Krono plant has an annual energy consumption of 328 GWh among which:

• 120 GWh (of both heat and electricity) are produced by 3 gas boilers,
• 115 GWh stem from the combustion of debarking wood,
• 93 GWh through the co-combustion of dust by-products and gas

The new biomass-powered unit will have a production of 330 GWh/year and will replace the gas-based production with a decommissioning target in 2024:

Instead of using gas, the Project will generate thermal energy from biomass (by-products produced on site by Swiss Krono), reducing Swiss Krono’s environmental impact, as well as leveraging the circular economy aspects which is one of the main rationales for the Project. Energy produced through this process is also estimated to deliver savings in euro of c. 50% by kWh compared to the current use of gas and will decrease gas consumption per year from 86 GWh (pure heat power) to 22 GWh (for use during maintenance of the Project).

SDG 13 (Climate Action)

All wood used by Swiss Krono is sustainably sourced.