News
BLRT Valukoda’s project, “Resource Efficiency Investments at BLRT Valukoda OÜ,” has been awarded €860,845.50 in funding from the European Union’s Cohesion Fund.
As part of the project, the company will acquire a new cutting-edge melting furnace, an automated continuous sand mixer for foundry operations, and a waste heat recovery system. These investments will expand BLRT Valukoda’s production capacity and enhance operational efficiency; by replacing outdated equipment with modern solutions, the company will decrease the environmental footprint of its’ products, lower energy consumption, optimise the use of raw material, and minimise waste generation.
The primary objective of the project is to reduce CO₂ emissions by replacing fossil fuels (natural gas) with recovered waste heat from the melting furnace. As a result, CO₂ emissions per unit of output will fall from 3.44 to 3.20 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, representing a decrease of 0.23 tCO₂e per tonne of production.
Beyond environmental benefits, the project will also reduce electricity and operating costs while improving product quality. The new induction furnace is expected to save approximately 5-7% in electricity and will require less maintenance compared with the existing smaller-capacity furnaces. The innovative automated continuous sand-mixer will enhance mould quality, decrease resource consumption, and further contribute to lowering CO₂ emissions. The introduction of the waste heat recovery system will enable the company to phase out natural gas use and reuse recovered heat in both production and heating systems.
This investment represents a process innovation. While it delivers energy savings, including more efficient electricity use, its main focus is essentially on cutting CO₂ emissions and strengthening environmental performance. Any improvements in energy efficiency are a natural consequence of adopting more advanced and innovative equipment.
