Our climate commitments are in line with the EU’s targets

The European Union has set an ambitious target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Subsequently, the union has set its sight on reducing emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030. It is a welcome decision, which is very much in line with our climate commitments and plans to reach them. We intend to phase out fossil fuels in the Vantaa region by 2026 and reach climate neutrality by 2045 at the latest.

New and innovative storage solutions are a key part of our plan. We intend to build the world’s largest seasonal thermal energy storage facility, the VECTES, which can store excess heat produced in the summer to be used in cold winter days. It can also contribute to many EU policy objectives: increased utilisation of waste heat from, further integration of additional renewable energy sources and energy system integration.

We want the VECTES to be an example for new thermal energy storage facilities across Europe. Therefore we welcome the Commission’s recent commitment to support the development of thermal energy storage solutions, especially large-scale technologies connected to the district heating grid. It is promising that the EU wants to facilitate the use of waste heat from cooling and data centres and accelerate investments into smart, efficient district heating based on renewables.

The EU has also highlighted the role of consumers in the green transition. With smart services, Vantaa Energy hopes to improve the involvment of our customers and help them reduce their carbon footprint and energy bills.

Circularity is an important part of the EU’s climate efforts. At Vantaa Energy, we focus strongly on improving energy and resource efficiency in our energy production. We are also investing into technologies that will help us utilise different sources of waste heat, renewable energy sources such as solar heat. We will also expand our waste-to-energy production and increase our treatment capacity of non-recyclable waste.