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Metal packaging manufacturer supplies heat for a city

Shorter days and a chill in the air can only mean one thing. Winter is on its way and the lower temperatures will soon have many of us turning up the temperature dial on our heating systems. 

Most of us are aware of the negative effects that heating our homes and offices can have on the environment. Typically, the energy used to heat water in a heating system comes from burning fossil fuels, contributing to global warming, air pollution and climate change. But what if there was a way for us to keep ourselves warm while minimising our impact on the environment? 

MPE Member Envases Europe has come up with a novel solution. Located in the city of Odense, in Denmark, it has been delivering surplus heat from its production plant for conversion into hot water for the city’s heating systems since 2013. 

Generated in one of their workshops as part of the can making process, Envases captures surplus energy and uses it to heat water to around 75°C. This water is then distributed to local households through a 1800km network of pipes, which link the factory to the surrounding city and provide heating for around a thousand households.

The scheme allows Envases to convert the surplus energy generated in can production into a valuable resource. Instead of going to waste, this energy is used efficiently to the benefit of the city’s population, helping to lower fuel consumption and carbon emissions in and around Odense and make it a greener city for everyone who lives there.

Plans are now in place to extend the project further, so that the system can also be used to heat the production plant itself. With the EU currently celebrating Green Week, as part of its European Week of Regions and Cities initiative, Envases serves as a great example of the ways in which the metal packaging industry is investing in green initiatives designed to benefit their communities.    

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