Decarbonisation and renewable energy accelerate at our Maastricht mill

A second e-boiler coming online shortly is only part of our progressive Sappi sustainability journey in the Netherlands

When Wopke Hoekstra – EU Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth – visited our Maastricht Mill earlier this year, there was plenty of activity for him to review. Not only is the mill currently demolishing a decommissioned gas turbine and constructing its second e-boiler – to work alongside a first e-boiler in operation since 2022 – but further important energy projects are also underway.

Due to come into operation in October 2025, the additional e-boiler will lower the mill’s use of natural gas and reduce energy costs at the same time as further reducing CO₂ emissions – amplifying the cost and decarbonisation benefits already achieved by the first e-boiler. The new e-boiler is being built by Parat and will be installed in partnership with Eco Steam Heating alongside a range of local suppliers.

Overall, the Maastricht mill’s CO₂ emissions are expected to be slashed by a third within five years. 
 

A clean energy approach shaped by innovative thinking

This continued reduction in CO₂ emissions is also due to other key strands of Sappi Europe’s decarbonisation roadmap being pursued at the mill – including an innovative approach to the storage of thermal energy in the shape of a steam accumulator due to be operational by the second half of 2026.

Traditionally produced in boilers powered by fossil fuels such as gas, the use of steam is crucial to the papermaking process. At Maastricht, not only will that steam now largely be produced by e-boilers drawing the bulk of their electricity from renewable energy sources, but the addition of a high-capacity steam accumulator will mean that the mill can produce and store steam at times of good renewable energy supply – to then use at times when the supply of such energy is more limited.

This ability to flex and switch is important because renewable electrical energy in the Netherlands largely relies on naturally unpredictable wind and solar. It’s also a level of adaptability that has become a motif for the developments at Maastricht, with the mill able to draw power from the grid or supply electricity to it according to the energy needs of the local community and national grid. (This thanks to the innovative application of congestion management combined with Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve – with a full activation time of only five minutes.)

Furthermore, plans are well underway for 10 companies to join a “pool” of collaborators by the end of 2025 in a growing partnership that will significantly boost the positive impact the mill can have – by boosting national grid flexibility and stabilisation, reducing CO₂ emissions at other companies and helping reduce energy costs for all.

The bigger Sappi Europe decarbonisation picture

These developments at Maastricht are just some of 80 projects that Sappi Europe is implementing across its mills as part of its ambitious decarbonisation roadmap. The company’s objective has been to reduce emissions of CO₂ by 25% and increase the share of renewable energy by 50% by 2025 (compared to 2019).  

By the end of 2024, the company had exceeded these targets, with emissions already reduced by 48% and the share of renewable energy at a level of almost 65%. In so doing, Sappi has demonstrated how energy-intensive industry actors can transform their operations in a way that powerfully contributes to EU climate ambitions.

At Maastricht, meanwhile, work continues on the commissioning of the new e-boiler and steam accumulator alongside modernisation of the mill’s backup natural gas infrastructure. 
 

In an energy system increasingly powered by wind and solar, Sappi’s continuing investment in sustainable technologies at Maastricht mill shows that flexibility is crucial,” says Sappi Maastricht Utilities Manager Bram Goorts. “And that’s exactly what our new assets deliver.