CIECH Soda Romania received the environmental agreement for the construction of a new high-efficiency cogeneration plant, an important step in the process of resuming soda production on the chemical platform, the company announced. The company will finance the project with European funds.
“Starting with September 2019, when CIECH Soda Romania was forced to enter long-term stand-by in terms of calcined soda production (due to the unilateral termination of the steam supply contract by CET Govora, the only steam supplier from Vâlcea, which successively increased the price of steam by 80% in less than two years, well above the feasible level, which made the maintenance of production completely unsustainable), the company from Râmnicu Vâlcea, with the support of the CIECH Group , initiated numerous actions to lay the foundations for a possible restart of production,” say the company’s officials.
As industrial steam is an indispensable element in the production of calcined soda, the company has developed plans for the construction of a new cogeneration plant on its premises, which could ensure in the medium term the required quality and volume of industrial steam in a production process pays attention to environmental protection and which is a starting point for the economic development of Vâlcea County.
According to the feasibility study, which the company completed in the fourth quarter of 2020, in a period of about 3 years, a new cogeneration plant can be built on the land belonging to the factory, providing the basis for restarting soda production in Valcea and contributing to the creation of almost 1,000 jobs in the county.
“Our studies show the possibility of a reduction of CO2 emissions by 275,000 tons in steam production compared to the volume of emissions generated by the former supplier, and this is encouraging in terms of further development of plans. Of course, these issues still depend on final decisions being made by all stakeholders – investors and authorities, but today we are one step closer to the idea that we could resume the production of soda ash, renewing the tradition of over 60 years of professional pride in Vâlcea,” said Witold Urbanowski, CEO of CIECH Soda Romania.
CIECH Soda Romania’s activity is currently reduced to 70 employees who are involved in the production of liquid sodium silicate, with the help of its own low-pressure industrial steam generator, in the conservation of the plant and in the support functions of the activity.