ABB has signed a preliminary, binding agreement that would see the technology leader deliver approximately €40 million worth of electrification and drive technology solutions to a planned bio-product mill in Kemi, northern Finland owned by Metsä Fibre – the world’s largest producer of softwood pulp.

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The agreement is subject to the final investment decision of Metsä Group (Metsä Fibre’s mother company), expected in autumn 2020 at the earliest. Production at the new mill could start in 2023, with a planned production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of per annum of pulp, alongside many other bio-products.

 

According to the preliminary agreement, over 1,000 electric motors for the planned Kemi bio-product mill will be manufactured in Finland at ABB’s factories in Vaasa and Helsinki. The mill’s protective relays and safety switches would be supplied by ABB’s factories in Vaasa, and over 600 drives would be supplied by the world’s largest drive factory in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki. Furthermore, ABB Power Grids Finland is responsible for the transformer deliveries for the Kemi project. The main transformers for the mill would be manufactured at the ABB Power Grids transformer factory in Vaasa.

 

The planned mill would make comprehensive use of ABB’s newest and extremely reliable, energy-efficient electrification and operations technology. The electric motors for the mill would be controlled by ABB’s latest intelligent motor control system. To save energy, ABB’s new range of drives would control half of the mill’s electric motor power. The plan is for the new mill to use ABB’s latest generation of high-efficiency motors as standard. The mill’s electrical system and drive technology would be integrated into ABB's Ability™ condition monitoring and remote support system, the technology giant said in a statement.