Norwegian Arbaflame has entered into a letter of intent with the Romanian state to phase out the entire country's coal consumption with Arbacore pellets. The transition will reduce the power plants' CO2 emissions by more than 90 percent, and the company plans to build a high number of factories in Romania.
From left: energy minister Virgil Popescu and Bjørn H. Knappskog, CEO of Arbaflame
Romania's energy minister Virgil Popescu and Bjørn H. Knappskog, CEO of Arbaflame, signed a letter of intent on Thursday with the aim of first cutting Paroseni Power Plant's CO2 emissions, then doing the same at the rest of the country's coal power plants. Testing of the first plant will begin in the first half of 2022.
The collaboration will involve replacing the coal that underlies the operation of the power plant with patented Arbacore pellets produced by Arbaflame, and, in the long run, includes the construction of a factory to produce these pellets in Romania. These plants will use sustainable biomass resources, which will help reduce CO2 emissions by more than 90 per cent.
“We are very pleased to confirm our common intention to convert the coal power plants in Romania to use clean energy. Romania has a long-term plan to replace all coal consumption, and this is completely in line with Arbaflame's vision: to accelerate coal phasing-out in Europe,” Bjørn H. Knappskog says.
“Historic agreement”
Virgil Popescu underlines the importance of this collaboration.
“This is a historic agreement for the Romanian Energy System and for the Jiu Valley. This partnership implies a massive decarbonization, because we will replace the burnt coal in Paroșeni Power Plant with sustainably produced pellets with a low rate of CO2 emissions. I stated that Romania needs to reach ambitious targets in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and we will achieve them,” he says and adds:
“In addition, not only do we provide heat and electricity in a sustainable way, but we also bring a mouthful of economical oxygen to the Jiu Valley, because in Paroșeni the factory where these pellets will be produced will be built. The surplus will be exported, so Romania will have a double benefit.”
Arbaflame was founded in 2005 and has developed a patented technology for pellets that share the properties of coal, but which burns with a significantly reduced amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Arbaflame's pellets are called ArbaCore, and have been tested and verified at 14 energy plants operating in Europe, Japan, the USA and Canada. ArbaCore will be a full-fledged green coal substitute product and can be transported, stored and handled in the same way as coal.
Arbaflame has also helped other countries with the energy transition. In 2015, Arbaflame phased its pellets into the Thunder Bay power station in Ontario, Canada. In 2019, the company signed a delivery contract with Power Plant Rotterdam, which will receive deliveries from ArbaOne in Kongsvinger.