Vilniaus Duona is implementing a heat recovery project – it will use the energy from the chimneys for heating

Vilniaus Duona has started implementing a heat recovery system project in the Panevėžys bakery. The energy generated during the production of bread, previously released through the chimneys in the winds, will turn into benefits: it will heat hot water and premises. This will save energy for heating purposes and reduce CO2 emissions. Lantmännen Unibake is investing 190 thousand euros in the project. euros. The project is expected to be completed in less than half a year.

As the project supervisor  said, the project is unique in that for the first time in the Lantmännen Unibake group of companies, it will not include individual ovens, but the entire bakery in a complex way – the heat from all chimneys will be used for energy purposes.

Protecting the environment from 240 tons of CO2

"We will direct all the thermal energy coming out of the bakery's chimneys to heat the water, so we will no longer need other sources for hot water at all. In the cold season, we will also use it to heat the premises. It is estimated that in this way we will consume about 25% less steam energy purchased from an external supplier. Thus, not only will we operate more efficiently, but we will also reduce the impact on the environment due to lower CO2 emissions, which we are committed to at the level of the entire group," said Audrius Lataitis, Project Manager at Vilniaus Duona.

This will protect the environment from approximately 240 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

The project is supported by UAB Sol4Heat, which developed the concept of this project, and carries out technical supervision of its implementation. The general contractor of the project is UAB Pincis.

Will pay off in two years

The project started in February, as soon as the financial investments were approved. All the main necessary equipment was promptly received, and assembly works are currently being carried out.

Prior to the approval of the investment, a significant part of the preparatory work had already been carried out – the technical design was created and approved, commercial offers were collected, contractors were selected, and preliminary contracts were concluded.

"This allowed us to start its implementation immediately and at the same time accelerate the return on investment -- we plan to complete the project by July this year, and start the new heating season by heating with recovered energy," said Audrius.

According to him, the project helps to reduce the use of fossil fuels and reduce the impact on the environment, which is willingly financed by the EU Structural Funds, but since we are a secondary energy consumer – we do not produce steam energy by burning fuel ourselves, but buy it, we could not apply for support.

"However, after making calculations, we decided to invest ourselves, because this project allows us to save about 100 thousand euros per year. euros. The investment will pay off very quickly, in about two years," Audrius emphasized.

The next step is to use steam for cooling

After the completion of the project, the next step will be to use the energy that cannot be used for heating in the summer.

After the completion of the project, the next step will be to use the energy that cannot be used for heating in the summer.

Marius Juška, the head of Panevėžys bakery, would like to thank Audrius Lataitis, as well as the reliability engineer Arminas Lasmanavičius and the technical manager Dainius Mažeika, who is working in the project team, for the successful implementation of the project.

About "Vilniaus duona"

Vilniaus Duona is owned by Lantmännen Unibake, the leader of baking companies in Scandinavia and the Baltic States, which is part of Lantmännen, one of the largest groups of companies in Northern Europe. The company's bakeries operate in Vilnius and Panevėžys and bake almost 100 tons of bread baked goods for Lithuanian consumers per day. The company employs about 360 employees and about 65 different positions. The company has been successfully operating in the market for more than 140 years. In 2022, the company's turnover exceeded EUR 51 million, the company earned about EUR 265 thousand. profit.